The Girl Who Blocked Her Own Shot
by slipofthetongue
Summary: Everything changes for Sakura when she losses her sight to an disease without a cure. Kakasaku fic.
1. The Loss

Ok new story! Yay!

I've been tossing this story idea around in my hjead for some time now. I didn't know if I wanted to go with another concpet beofre this one, and I wondered if I should finish up my other story 'Action of a crying heart' ( READ IT DAMNIT! I'm all for shameless poblicity)

Hopefully my spelling and grammer has improved somewhat. Not too much, cause frankly what would a hottieeden story be without terrible spelling. LoL.

Anywho, hope ya'll like like it and review review review!

* * *

"Sakura...have you seen my other glove?" The frustrated copy ninja called out from inside his large tent, where he currently embarked upon his search.

"No, I haven't." He heard her reply. Sighing , he lifted up the back pack from the ground and dumped the contents onto his futon. And as his tired eyes, which wanted nothing more then for his mind to cooperate with the idea of sleep, searched the objects on his bed for the item he hoped he didn't loose, he grew more and more aggravated upon finding nothing more than tenser bandages, kunai, and many other handy shinobi tools. Which, at this moment, weren't all that handy.

'Where could it be?' He scratched the back of his head in thought. 'Maybe Sakura's tent?'

He began to stuff all of the objects which he had just dumped, back into the bag, then tossed back the flap and stepped out onto the grassy plain of the campsite they had decided on.

"You're sure you haven't seen it?" Kakashi inquired.

"Yes I'm sure. Where was the last place you had it?" The pink haired chuunin asked, giving their diner of typical soup another stir, from the middle of the clearing.

Kakashi unzipped the entrance to the other tent next to his own.

"On my hand of course." He sighed, and stepped inside.

Sakura huffed in return of his most unhelpful attitude.

"Well, you don't need to get all snippy!" She snapped. "Mr.- high ranking freaking ninja who lost such a simple item as a gloves which he should have been wearing.' We still on a mission you know, and just because we're on our way home doesn't mean that you can get all leisured ou-"

"Found it." He interrupted, causing Sakura to stop mid rant and a very unsightly vain pop in on her temple, spinning her upper body around to glare at the man as he stepped out of his tent.

"What was it doing in my tent, pervert?" She growled.

The silver haired jounin calmly walked over to where to stood, slipping his happily return glove back onto his hand.

"I'm the pervert? Whose lost piece of clothing was found in whose tent, Hmm?" Kakashi inquired and he knelt down beside the beat red girl.

"I have no idea how that disgusting thing got into my tent, but there's only two people in this camp ground and only ONE of them reads Icha Icha porno books. So who looks like the guilty one?" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, desperately fighting back the blush which could no doubt pierce the night with it blinding brightness.

Kakashi, being the utterly most annoying man to grace this earth, acted as if hadn't heard a single word his female friend had said.

"Honestly, Sakura if you're going to be stealing my clothing at least try to act non conspicuous, I mean do I have to start counting my boxers from now on?" Kakashi knew his taunting had reached it's peak as the sweet innocent girl next to him had suddenly switched to kill mode and angrily tossed a back handed fist in all attempts to smack the grin from his face.

Although, being to ninja he was, stepped out of line of fire and stood to his feet.

"You jerk! I would never!" Sakura shouted, her face beat red and her fist clenched ready to throw another punch.

"Supper's going to boil over if you don't watch it." Kakashi commented, stuffing his hands into his pockets and nodding his towards the bubbling over pot.

"Oh shit!" Sakura cursed and quickly reached to lift the pot away fire below. Fanning the steam away frantically she sighed when it finally subsided.

"Diner's ready." She smiled and gave a nervous laugh

* * *

Kakashi tried desperately not to choke upon letting the soup, if that's what you could call it, touch his tongue. The absolutely terrible liquid actually seemed to burn his mouth, making him wonder if Sakura had put acid in the mix just for shits-n'-giggles. A little game of let's poison Kakashi with what he initially thought to be eatable. Clever.

Chancing a glance up to the master mind behind this, he saw her initial reaction to basically mirror that of his own.

"Uh...well. I'm not very hungry." She whispered and carefully set the bowl of agony down on the ground before her. Then after a second thought reached forward and gave it an extra push further away.

"Me either." Kakashi gave a whole hearted chuckle before setting the bowl on the ground beside the fire.

"I'm sorry." Sakura laughed, blushing heavily. "I guess that's why no one comes over at diner, huh?" She glanced over at her silver haired companion.

She couldn't help but laugh when she heard his deep chuckle echo across the camp, turning her eyes down to her hands which were foiled nervously in her lap.

"The point is you tried." Kakashi replied, his tone matching that completely annoying one which involves an adult speaking to a twelve year old. Sakura, being eighteen, absolutely, positively hated it.

"Shut up." Sakura giggled. "Next time you can slave over

the hot fire to cook something that you're ungrateful partner won't at."

"Hey, you didn't eat it either. As I recall you were more open with your disgust then I was." Kakashi yawned, ducking away from the spoon that shot towards the middle of his forehead.

"It wasn't that bad!" She cried.

Repositioning his seat on the ground, he nodded his head.

"Oh yeah, it was." He replied, with a soft chuckle.

Sakura couldn't help but recall the feeling of tare against her tongue,

and make of a face of pure distaste. One of which Kakashi immediately

caught.

"Aha! That's the face!" He pointed excitedly towards his pink haired women across from him.

"Ok, maybe it was that bad." Sakura hung her head in shame. "Nobody's perfect, though. What I lack in cooking ability I make up in violence towards those who don't like my cooking." She glared playfully over towards Kakashi.

"I'm shaking in my sandals." Kakashi taunted.

"You wanna go?" Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Easy tiger. That monster strength of yours needs a leash, and come to think of it you're mouth needs a muzzle." Kakashi's eye curved up.

"Maybe I can borrow yours since it's obviously not being used!" Sakura snapped.

"My my, Sakura. I was joking, by if you're really into that kinky stuff, I'm sure to give you a whip and chains for your up coming birthday."

"Oh, you wish Copy-Ninja. I bet it's a huge fantasy of yours to have that scene in you perverted books come to life with none other then you beautiful pink haired chuunin." Sakura stuck her nose in the air to ass to the effect.

"You caught me." Kakashi replied sarcastically.

"Damn right! I always knew you were as perverted as you seemed. I can't wait to tell Naruto that his precious ex-sensei, his hero, if you will dreams about his best friend in leather and chains!"

"Naruto doesn't think I'm his hero." Kakashi replied.

"Well, no. But he respects you...kind of. He likes you...most of the time." Sakura smiled.

"Thanks that makes feel super." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"No problem." Sakura laughed. "But you don't really want

to see me in that chains stuff right?" She fought to hide the blush.

"Sakura, you're my friend." His eye curved up.

"Ok." She replied.

"But I'm always a man, and a little naughty vision wouldn't hurt."

"Oh my God you have no shame!" Sakura giggled and reached beside her into a bag, and withdrew two apples. "I wonder what Tsunade-sama would say if she heard you talking like that?" She tossed him and apple.

"I doubt the news with shock her all that much actually."

He caught it and took a bite, thankful to have some sort of food which he could eat. He was mask less of course. Around Sakura, he tended no to where his traditional mask. Why? Maybe it was the fact that they were such close friends nowadays that he felt he didn't need it. Or maybe he felt he owed it to her for her to see his mask after all they've been through, over the past years.

"Don't tell you you've hit on her?" Sakura whispered in shock.

Kakashi choked on the apple in his mouth, and quickly spit it to the side in order to get a big gasp of air and to clear his throat with a few coughs.

"She's fifty-somewhat years old!" He replied in disbelief.

"Yeah but she's kind of pretty, in her own way. And she the freaking Hokage! I mean the power alone must be attractive." Sakura reasoned.

"Like you just said, she's the freaking Hokage. That's like you being attracted to the third." Kakashi replied.

"Ewww." Sakura laughed.

"Exactly. Besides, power doesn't interest me." Kakashi tried to take another bite of his food in hopes that his female companion wouldn't say something insanely outrageous and make him cough it up again.

"Really? Sooo, what does interest you?" Sakura leaned closer towards him.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know." He smiled mid-chew.

"Yeah, I would. I mean the most I got out of you when you introduced yourself back in the day was that you had hobbies and dreams but you never said anything specific." Sakura recalled.

"There's not a lot to really know." Kakashi shrugged.

"Oh I don't believe that for a second!" Sakura cried. "A man clouded in mystery has nothing mysterious about him? Come on."

"I'm not mysterious." Kakashi replied.

"You sure are! You've worn a mask for 90 of you life, for God sake, and not to mention you unfortunate incapability to socialize with anyone outside of me, Asuma and Genma."

"There's nobody worth talking to I've found." He once again shrugged it off.

"Aww, that's very sweet, but it's not going to stop me from learning about you, Kakashi." Sakura leaned back and dug her teeth into the apple.

"Ok whatever. What do you want to know?" Kakashi sighed, inwardly dreading what was going to be asked of him. Why he wore his mask, maybe? Or what were his parents like? Maybe why he suddenly decided not to be an Andu member anymore? Or maybe it was just about his likes and dislikes? Whatever it was, Kakashi knew that he hated telling people about himself.

"Really?" She asked in surprise at the silver haired man's suddenly agreement to something she's asked him for almost five years.

"Yep, but this is just a one time deal and if you tell anyone I'll have to kill you." Kakashi warned. It's bad enough knowing one person who knew about his past, rather then the whole freaking village.

"Wow, ok. Let's see." Sakura wanted this question to be good, and thought about. So she took a moment to think of a really good one. "Ok." She said finally said with a smile.

"Ok." He sighed. "Ask away."

"When we were training, oh I don't know it must have been five six years now. But back when you were our sensei, you told us that your friends' names were on the memorial stone…."

'Oh crap, here it comes..' Kakashi mentally thought.

"What I want to know is, well, how old were you when you first realized that one day…at any time… you will die?" Sakura whispered, her gaze turned down to her lap.

"Huh?" Kakashi couldn't contain his utter surprise at the question which had been directed at him from his pink haired companion. This, of all questions she could ask him, was what she decided was the most she wanted to know about him?

"When did you realize that you may stand beside your best friend one day then the next you're standing next to the memorial stone? That nothing lasts forever." She turned to gaze at him over the fire the stood between them.

"Sakura…" Kakashi whispered. "Well, it actually wasn't when my friends died that I realized that fact as a universal common knowledge."

"It wasn't?" Sakura whispered.

"No," He gave a short shake of his head. "It was when my mother died…"

"Oh..." Sakura whispered, suddenly feeling great guilt for asking such a question. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He waved it off, and then continued. "She died when I was four, on a mission in Sand, I believe." He thought for a second as if searching deep into his memory banks to see if it really was Sand. Finally he said. "I don't know it was a long time ago." He shrugged.

"So young." She whispered low enough so that the jounin had hadn't even been able to hear her.

"Pardon?" He replied.

"She died, when you were just a little boy. It's terrible how such a young soul learns such a deeply troubling fact so early in life." Sakura shook her head in sadness.

"Yes, well. Ninja are better to learn that fact earlier rather than later." Kakashi commented.

"I don't believe that." Sakura replied. "Knowing that your mother and father and all of your friends will die, doesn't make a four year old boy stronger. But sadder, and…."She paused. But unfortunately Kakashi had been listening and yearned to know more of the thoughts which ran through the pretty head of hers.

"And…what?" He asked.

"…Nothing. I'm just grateful that my mother and father didn't die so young. That I had time and years of knowledge behind me before I had to come to grips with it." Sakura cupped her chin into her hands and leaned forward on her knees.

"What made you ask me such a downer of a question?" Kakashi decided to lighten the mood up. Having Sakura sad wasn't what he wanted, and he so much enjoyed actually laughing with her.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I was curious what you thought, is all." She shrugged.

"But, what about my mask?" Kakashi inquired. "Why didn't you ask me why I wear it? Or How my friends died, or why I quick Anbu all those years back? Stuff like that."

"Well," Sakura began. " I just figured that a mans past is his own business. And if he wishes to talk about, he will. But who am I to demand to know? I respect your privacy, Kakashi…" She gave a wholehearted smile towards her silver haired companion.

"Thank you." He smiled. "But if you really do respect my privacy then why did you steal my glove?" He inquired.

"Damn it, Kakashi!"

* * *

Sakura gently laid her head down the futon pillow with a sigh of relief. It had been a long day of traveling, waking for almost eleven hours from a small city named Bylika just near the Sand-Leaf border line.

Their mission, hers and Kakashi's, was to merely deliver some documents to a client who took residence their.

It wasn't anything special and at first both ninjas wondered why it needed two of them to take it on, but it was their orders none the less and shinobi must abide by what it ordered of them.

Fortunately enough, this mission never took a violent turn and it was carried out without a single attack. Maybe the documents weren't anything special. Maybe they were just birthday cards from a distant family member.

Whatever it was it doesn't matter now. Sakura had handed the envelope to the old man client himself. And now it was out of hers and Kakashi's hair.

'We'll be back in Konoha my no later then 10:00 tomorrow morning.' She thought. 'Maybe I'll ask Kakashi out for some Raman.' She mused. 'Naruto will want to come too, maybe Sasuke-'

Suddenly her tent went pitch black, and the top of her refuge, she was currently looking at disappeared into the darkness.

'What the-?' She sat up in her futon and scanned the rest of her tent. Unfortunately everything around her was no longer there anymore. She couldn't even see her legs or her arms when she held them out in front of her.

Frowning, she tried blinking a couple of times in an attempt to clear her vision. As she kept of the motion of opening and closing her eye lids, slowly the small tent once again began to regain light and sight which it had, for that brief second, lost. Glancing down curiously to her legs she once again could see the outline of her limbs under the covers of her futon.

'What just happened?' She thought and twisted her arms around to be sure that her eyes were seeing what was to be seen.

She blinked for a second more, just to see if the darkness would return to her sight, but it didn't.

'That was odd, I must really be tired.' She concluded and once again laid her head back down onto the pillow and shut her eyes.

Welcoming the sleep.

* * *

For some reason, Sakura found herself awake again four hours later. Her eyes lifted as she was welcomed back into reality.

She blinked a couple of times, and frowned.

Everything was dark.

'What's going on?' She sighed with frustration, and sat up in her futon. Turning her eyes down to where she expected her legs to be, she was frightened when they were no longer visible. And once again, she held out her arms to see them. But found that, they too, were not able to be seen past the damn darkness that surrounded her.

Trying not to panic, she tossed back the covers from her body, and sat up on her knees.

Her fingers graced over the top of her eyes, softly at first, but still the darkness remained whenever she opened her eyes expecting to see the side of her tent.

Her fingers rubbed hard into the sockets of her eyes, with a soft gasp from her lips.

Still the darkness remained.

Suddenly rising to her feet, she knocked her head against the top of the tent in the process, but ignored it.

Her hands shot forward in search of the zipper, hoping that the moon light would dispel the dark. But as she frantically unzipped her tent and stumbled out into the chilled air, she felt tears of frustration still her eyes when she still had to feel around in search of anything that was around her.

She felt like she was in a jutsu, she felt like she was trapped inside the complete darkness of the effects of the Sharigan or just a normal genjutsu, but she was scared because she didn't fell the normal effects such a technique would normally have on her. She was skilled at genjutsu, jet this didn't feel like it at all.

"Kakashi!" She cried, as her arms stretched out in front of her in search of him.

Her toe stabbed against a rock and she fell to the cold dirt floor with a very un-ninja like thud. Sakura immediately pushed herself up, and as much as she looked around it was all the same thing she saw.

Darkness.

"Sakura?" Her hearing picked up his voice from her prison and for a second her heart leapt with hope.

"Kakashi!" She cried out, and struggled back onto her feet.

Her hands shot out in front of her and began feeling around her him. "Where are you!" She cried out frantically, and shuffled her feet forward.

"I'm right here." His tone had a questioning hint to it, as if he was curious as to why she had asked that.

"Where are you? I can't…" Suddenly she collided with a stern surface, and when she gasped and felt like she was about to fall, strong guided hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

She let out heavy breathes, and her eyes widened in terror, immediately reaching up to grab handfuls of his undershirt that he had worn to bed that night.

"Sakura, what's wrong? You're shaking." He replied with worry and switched his hand from her shoulder to caress her cheek once he knew she was steady in her feet.

"What's happening?" She asked, she was hyperventilating and with each deep and highly irregular breath, her head began to blur and she felt more and more like fainting.

"What's going on, do you feel it?"

"Feel what, Sakura? What's wrong!" He asked, this time with urgency in his tone, and she could feel his hands gently shake her body in attempts to get answers.

"Everything is dark! I can't see!" She breathed, clinging harder and harder to his chest. Closer and closer to his body and presence.

"You can't see?" Kakashi asked. She gave a quick shake of her head.

"No, I can't see anything! Everything is dark and I…. everything is so dark!" She suddenly fell into light headedness and collapsed in his arms.

He of course caught her. He always catches her.

"Wow, easy." He whispered and lifted her limp body in her arms.

He carried her bridle style to her tent, stepping through the already wide open zipper, and gently rested her onto her futon.

"Kakashi," she replied and frantically reached out to him.

He quickly swept his hand over her eyes and frowned when her eyes didn't even flinch or move or give off any life what so ever. And he couldbn't help but fear it when her eyes looked on him, but still didn't. As if she wasn't really looking at him at all, even though she thought she was.

Was she really blind?


	2. Mission

Tsunade frowned sadly as she set the x-ray back down onto the table, and took to rubbing her sensitive headache by relieving pressure through the bridge of her nose.

'So it is true.' Tsunade thought with a sigh. She didn't believe it at first. When Kakashi had called first brought home her student from their mission, and headed immediately to the hospital, she wasn't worried. Sakura was strong; she could handle a few broken bones and wounds. But when Tsunade found the real reason for her admission into the hospital she had to come down there her self to get everything all sorted out.

"Is she really…?" Shizune began from where she stood next to her teacher.

"I'm afraid so." Tsunade whispered, and neatly folded the X-rays back into the envelope so the light wouldn't damage them. "Such a loss." She shook her head with sorrow.

Sakura had always been a very promising medic ninja, and was always praised on her master of chakra control and over all knowledge of how the human anatomy worked well before Tsunade had ever took the pink haired women as her apprentice.

And to think that all of her dreams and hopes for the future have been stripped from her from such an unfair source.

It's not right.

"What caused it, Tsunade-Sama?" Shizune asked.

"Glaucoma. A very advanced level, at that. There's no way that she could have known. There's no way I could have know, without special tests. It's too late now." Tsunade turned away from her apprentice and headed down the hallway.

* * *

Kakashi sat hunched over in his chair beside her hospital bed. It felt like he'd been sitting there for what seemed like 9 hours. Ever since she was first admitted, he hadn't left her side. Ever though he wasn't allowed to be with her when they performed the tests on her eyes, and they sure as hell did a lot of tests, he was always sitting there waiting for her to get back.

This all seemed like just a very bad nightmare. It was far too surreal to even believe. He felt like he was going to wake up to find that none of this had ever happened. And the Sakura wasn't blind.

But it wasn't a dream. This was real and happening right now before his very eyes.

What was she doing here, lying in a hospital bed? She wasn't hurt, her body wasn't damaged. She was perfectly fine, so why was she here? Blindness? It can't be.

It's impossible.

They hadn't spoken since yesterday in the forest. When this had all happened. But he knew she knew he was there. That he had always been there. He guess she figured that was

His head jerked up to the door when he heard Tsunade enter the room.

Standing to his feet suddenly, eager to hear some good news. Maybe she just had some damage to her eye, like lee had to his spine. When no one thought he could fight or even walk again, they were wrong and he turned out to be fine now. Sakura was the same.

This was all just a mistake.

But the look on her face made him think otherwise.

"Kakashi… you're still here." Shizune asked as she soon entered the room right after the Hokage.

"Tsunade..?" Kakashi looked questionably at her.

She nodded slowly, turning to Sakura.

"Sakura…it's me." She replied and moved towards her.

The pink haired women turned her head towards the sound of her voice. And course, her eyes soon focused elsewhere. They had began to fade, the green color of her eyes were turning pale blue. It was how blind peoples eyes tended to look.

"Sensei?" She replied.

"I'm afraid it's not good news." The Hokage replied.

The look, Kakashi saw upon Sakura's face made his heart drop. She didn't look surprised at all. As if this is what she had always been expecting. Part of him knew that this was going to be the outcome as well. But he hoped and wished so deeply for it to be otherwise.

"You have a disease called Glaucoma." Tsunade began.

"Glaucoma," Sakura nodded slowly to herself and turned her head away towards where she thought was a window, when in actuality was a plain wall.

Tsunade turned to Kakashi, the only one in the room who had absolutely no idea what was being talked about, being the only one not to have medical training.

"Glaucoma is an eye disease caused by increased pressure within the eye which affects the optic nerve. This nerve acts like an electric cable with over a million wires. It is responsible for carrying images from the eye to the brain. Slowly, the eye loses nerve function and loss of side, (or peripheral), vision. This can develop at any age, and occurs painlessly, even unnoticeably."

"But how did she get it?" Kakashi asked dumbfounded.

"Most defiantly the disease doesn't run in her family, so it must have been a previous injury. Injury to the eye may cause secondary open angle glaucoma. This type can occur immediately after the injury or years later."

"You said that she couldn't tell if she had this disease prior to her blindness? How?" Kakashi inquired.

"Usually, no pain is associated with increased eye pressure. Experts estimate that half of the people affected by glaucoma may not know they have it." Sakura spoke up. "Glaucoma is a very misunderstood disease it is not curable, and vision lost cannot be regained."

Kakashi swallowed as he glanced from his pink haired companion to her sensei who nodded in agreement.

"I'm blind Kakashi." Sakura replied, turning her head towards where she thought he was. Because frankly, without her vision she could only guess.

His eyes dropped to the floor, in thought for a moment. Thoughts were rearing inside his head, so much that it was hard to understand them.

"I…I c-can't believe that. There m-must be a cure, Tsunade-sama, can't you…?" Kakashi stopped mid sentence as his gaze caught the hokages'. She was staring at his with such pity that it actually scared him.

Tsunade left he room without another word, and after a quick bow, Shizune followed her.

Kakashi stood frozen to where he stood, for minutes after they had left.

"Kakashi…" His head lifted at the sound her voice, even if it was just a whisper.

"What am I going to do?" She smiled sadly, her lifeless eyes staring down at something near her feet.

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak but found absolutely no words. Instead he did what he could only think of. He held her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders he drew he in to him, and allowed her head to rest comfortably against his broad chest.

Her body molded perfectly against hers even in the awkward position of her on the bed and him sitting on the edge of it.

Normally the silver haired jounin wasn't a touchy-feely person, and the close contract which he felt now was never a welcomed feeling before and very rarely acted on. In fact this hug had to be the first in nearly nine years. One that he was the first to act upon, that is. Not counting the many, many unfortunate times which Naruto hugged him out of happiness or some other reason.

But, for some reason, Kakashi just wanted to hold this woman. Was it out of pity for the incredible loss she has to endure from now on, a loss which she had no control over? Not pity, but maybe just heartfelt sympathy. It was, after all, not in her nature to accept any such special treatment from anyone, let alone someone she's known since she was twelve. Back when she wasn't as strong as she was now. So why didn't she reject such a thought that he held her because he had to. It didn't matter at that moment.

She didn't cry, which deeply surprised him, yet just clung to his body with all of her might, and he returned it. Her strong grip felt like it was about to rip through his vest at any moment, and her body was so tense that she felt like she was made of stone, except for her hands which trembled under the intense grip.

They stayed like that for some time. Neither one truly wanted, or even thought of letting go of the other.

"Sakura-Chan!" The voice of Kohona's number one noisy ninja rang out from down the hospital hallway. Echoing through every door, till it finally reached Sakura's.

The cry was immediately accompanied with various 'shhh's and 'shut up's from the all the people on that floor, and someone murmuring something that sounded a lot like 'idiot'.

Kakashi's arms left her body and he pushed himself up off the bed, in an instant.

Sakura nearly fell over at the speed in which he practically leapt off the bed at the sound of his formal student. She thought for a second that he was embarrassed to be caught in such a close proximity with any one let alone a former student.

For all the years that she knew him, she'd never saw him show any emotions except for anger. She saw that emotion when he fought Zabuza and the boy Haku. Around her he seemed to be different, somehow. He was playful and talked with great insight on things he thought about. Nothing too deep of course, the masked man always had his shield up, but at least he actually talked to her.

Maybe he just didn't like anyone seeing him being all huggy and touchy with any human being. He had his reputation of course. Not that Sakura thought for a second that such a thing mattered to him. He wasn't conceited, spiteful, or have any normal male ego which she'd seen so much with Genma and Sasuke. But so down to earth spite it larger then life persona which others lay open him.

Whatever the reason, she suddenly felt like she needed him to hug her; she needed him to stay near her. He seemed to be the only one who she could talk to. Naruto couldn't keep still long enough for any heart to heart conversation, and Sasuke appeared to care less about speaking at all. Ino was totally out of the question.

Leaving only him. Her friend.

"Sakura-Chan!" Suddenly Naruto came bursting through the doors, followed once again by the shhh's and shut up's. The door slapped against the wall with the unnecessary about of force the blonde man had put behind.

"She can hear you, you idiot." Sasuke chided, as he soon calmly walked into the room after his not so calm companion.

"Sakura is it true! What happened? Are you alright!" He began jamming questions down at her, and as much as she tried to understand him it all came out as blah blah blah.

"Naruto, take it easy." Kakashi ordered, putting his hand up to signal silence. As if Naruto ever listened to him.

"Are you blind! Can you see me! You can see me can't you!" He rushed towards the bed, only to have Kakashi stick his arm out and clothes-hanger him to the floor.

"I said shut up." He sighed, calmly shoving his hands back into his pockets.

"Ow," Naruto rubbed his sore back head where it had hit the floor, sitting up and glaring at the silver haired man's single lazy eye.

"It's alright, Naruto. I'm okay." She whispered, causing Kakashi to glance over at her. "Nothing's sore, I'm not hurt."

"But are you blind?" Sasuke spoke up. Sakura turned her faced blue eyes to where his voice came from, startling both the Uchiha boy and Naruto upon seeing her lifeless eyes for the first time.

"Yes." She replied, without hesitation.

"W-what happened?" Naruto whispered, getting to his feet again after the initial shock.

"Long story short, I have Glaucoma. It has rendered my permitted blind without hope of seeing again." Sakura replied, folding her hands in her lap.

"You're sounding too calm in a situation like this." Sasuke noted.

Kakashi had wanted to ask her the question also, but never got around to it. So he listened intently to what her answer was.

She fell into silence.

"It's weird." She began. "I feel like screaming as loud as I can, and balling my eyes out. But I can't." She shrugged as if it was no big deal. "This is all very new to me. To tell you the truth I don't know how to act."

"Sakura-Chan…" Naruto whispered.

"I think that it's time we left." Kakashi commented after a short pause and led his former students from the room. He took a chance to glance back at his pink haired companion before shutting the door to her room.

* * *

She lay awake in the bed for most of the night. Running her hands back and forth in front of her eyes, seeing absolutely no movement, or anything for that matter, expect the dark.

She gently touched her face, and felt her fingers graze over her skin. She could smell that very familiar scent of the hospital which she spent a far majority of her time in over these years. She could hear the beeping of the machines to her left which monitored her heart rate, and the shuffling of feet down the hallway. She could taste the leftover supper which she had eaten on her tongue.

But she couldn't see anything. Her eyes were wide open and she moved her pupils around the room but everything remained the same.

She knew about this disease from her studies but never once really understood what is would be like to have your eyes cloud over with a impenetrable darkness, without any hope of opening your eyes one day and seeing.

She didn't really understand herself why she wasn't crying. Hell, she's cried over much less important shit in the past, but she didn't want to now.

What was she going to do? A blind ninja was never heard of. Even worse, a blind Medic was completely bullshit.

A ninja life was all she knew, what could she possible be if she wasn't on missions or training. She had no purpose without her medic skills or chakra control.

She was nothing without her sight.

* * *

The next couple of days seemed to crawl by for Sakura. Lying in bed was never one of her top thing to do and unfortunately her utter lack of patience almost made it impossible to do so. Naruto visited when he could. More like when he could spare a moment from his growing family with Hinita, and whatever D or C ranked missions Tsunade assigned to him around the Village.

Sasuke was assigned to an A ranked Mission the day after her admission to the hospital, so he wasn't around.

Kakashi, on the other hand, visited everyday. She was glad to have someone with her, even if it was just for an hour a day. She hated the darkness, and hearing that door open and his presence fill the room was a grate comfort.

They didn't really talk all that much, Sakura decided he didn't have to. Just that he was there, in the same room. Just that she wasn't alone was enough. But when they did talk, it wasn't about any matter at hand. Sakura would ask how he was. He would reply he was doing fine. She would ask how everybody was doing, and if Genma was back from his mission yet. Kakashi would then reply that he hadn't really talked with anyone lately but Genma still hasn't returned.

Small talk like that. Nothing like what they would normally talk about. And Sakura feared that some tension was creeping between them. But why, she could understand. Was it her condition? Was he angry at her for not getting checked? Was he sad that this had happened to her? ...Was he worried she would become a burden?

She silently wondered what he was thinking everyday he came into the room, kissed her gently on the forehead and settled down into his chair. Their meetings, she feared, had become routine for him. Like he felt he had to come everyday. She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to come, that he should go on with his life. But a part of her didn't want his to give up their meetings. She didn't want to be alone. She knew she was being selfish.

And when the hour was up and the nurse came to the door to tell him the visiting hours were over, he would rise from the creaking chair and gently kiss her head before she would listen to his retreating footsteps out of the door.

Then she would be alone for the rest of the afternoon, and all through the night.

* * *

"You asked for me, Hokage-Sama?" Kakashi entered the room through the large twin doors.

"Yes, come in." He heard her order from somewhere behind the huge clutter of stray papers and folders which now took up 110 of her desk and when there was no room, fell onto to floor. Nothing out of the ordinary, he figured.

So as requested, he stepped over the threshold and shut the door to give the meeting some privacy. He slowly made his way towards the mountain of work, and paused before the desk. He fell into silence as he waited for any signs of life of the Hokage, but after a few moments he peaked up of the pile just as her head shot up. He stumbled back onto her heels as to not smack heads with the blonde women.

"Oh yes, Kakashi." She said as if remembering that he was in the room. Pointing into mid air in thought, she quickly disappeared behind the mountain of paper work once again. Quckly returning with a scroll, she handed it to the awaiting jounin.

"A mission?" Kakashi inquired.

"A mission." She sighed.

"With all due respect Hokage-Sama, I thought you told me to be here for Sakura for the next week or so?" He asked.

"Yes, I recall. But this mission involves none other then Sakura herself." Tsunade sighed and disappeared back behind the scrolls and paper work.

"Oh?" Kakashi replied and glanced down at the scroll in his hand.

"Read it." She yawned.

Kakashi flicked up the seal that bound the information inside closed, and rolled out the long paper over his arm. He took a second to glance over it before looking back up at where the Hokage had disappeared again.

"Are you serious?" He whispered.

"Absolutely." Kakashi frowned with a soft exhale of pent up air.

"This entails that I live with her." He replied, with increasing discomfort.

"That's what it entails. Now go, I need to speak with Iruka." He saw a shooing hand peak up over the hill, at which time he turned and left the room.

Kakashi slowly walked down the descending stairs from the Hokage's office, in no rush to tell Sakura of his newly assigned mission. How would she take it? It was so hard to tell with such a complex mind as the pink haired Chuunin had. One moment she was so happy, the next she'd be trying to through knives at you. Kakashi had been at the end of her anger a far share in the past, so he had learnt first had.

Would she be angry with Tsunade and himself for taking pity on her and making her condition the reason of a mission? She was never the one to sit back and allow others to help her. She was so damn independent, that even the simple act of helping her out in the kitchen became a battle.

Or would she be grateful that Tsunade cared enough for her well being, and that he didn't think of this as a mission but as a friend helping out a friend? To know that she's not alone in all of this, that people around her will help her through his scary time.

He was drifting towards the first reaction.

And what was she going to think about the fact that he had to live with her…in her house? He sure as hell wasn't looking forward to this. Don't get it wrong, he cared for Sakura more then anyone, she was his friend. He had allowed her to come closer to him then anyone had ever gotten, and he had told her things about himself that no one else knows. But he's never lived with another person let alone a woman. He didn't really know what it was going to be like to not have a house to himself. And to add to things, it was her house that Tsunade had told him to take residence in. He could understand her reasoning for that but still, the idea of sleeping in a foreign bed didn't appease to him.

And how the hell is Sakura going to feel about living with him? Surely she hadn't really lived with another man, other then her father, let alone someone like him. He wasn't even close to being a gentleman and he had a very bad habit of walking around in his underwear. Surely Sakura wouldn't much care for that.

"Hey Kakashi my man!"

Glancing up he saw Genma closing in on him. His hair still pulled back behind that headband he always wears, and the stupid toothpick still sticking from his lips. He didn't a bit different from when he left almost three months ago.

"Yo." He replied lifting his hand in standard hello greeting.

"How you doing?" He grinned and came to a stop before his silver haired jounin.

"Fine. You're still alive I see." Kakashi joked.

"Yep, I'm like a fucking cockroach." He replied with a chuckle.

"Don't I know it?" He sighed.

"Where you off to?" Genma slipped beside his friend as they proceeded down the walkway.

"I'm going to see Sakura." He replied.

"Really? How is my pink flower?" Genma asked. "I really missed her when I was away. My lips were just so longing to-"

"Easy Romeo." Kakashi growled.

"Protective as always." Genma laughed, with a shake of his head

"She is the hospital." Kakashi sighed.

"Hospital?" Genma inquired. "What the hell happened, is she ok?"

"She's blind…" He whispered.

"Fuck me sideways!" Genma cried "Jesus Christ, are you serious?" He stared wide eyed at his companion for an answer. Kakashi nodded, looking at something in the distance.

"Holy shit." He whispered, rubbing the back of his head. "How?"

"Glaucoma Some kind of eye disease. They said she couldn't even see it coming." Kakashi replied.

"Fuck…" He mumbled. "How is she taking it?"

"Surprising well, but I think she's more devastated then she likes to show."  
Kakashi replied.

"Well, that's Sakura for ya." Genma sighed. "Jesus Christ."

"You said that already."

* * *

Sakura pushed herself up in the hospital bed. She brought her knees up to her chest with a sigh.

Visiting hours had begun almost twenty minutes ago, and Kakashi still hadn't shown up.

'Maybe he's finally gotten board with coming here everyday' She thought sadly.

'Damn these eyes.' She thought bitterly. 'Why doesn't everything work against me? I actually thought I was getting stronger, and then this happens.'

She started when she heard the door to her room creek open. Her heart lighted immediately.

"Kakashi?" She called out in the darkness.

"Yeah, it's me." She heard him reply, and let out a soft sigh of relief.

"You're late." She smiled, when he she could just picture his reaction. He would curve his eye up in a smile, rub the back of his head and say…

"Sorry," He replied. "But I had to visit the Hokage."

"It's alright. I'm just glad you came." She whispered.

"I brought a friend." He added, and she heard the door shut after another set of footsteps entered the room.

"Really? Who is it?" She asked.

"It's me, Babe." Genma's voice was like music to her ears, she could know it anywhere. Plus only one person has enough balls to call her babe without fearing the consequences.

"Genma! I'm so happy you're back!" She opened her arms and waiting for him to hug her. It took a second for him to cross the room but soon she felt his chest against hers and his arms around her body.

"Oh, Sakura, I'm so sorry." He whispered in a very uncharacteristic tone to the normally upbeat jounin.

"It's alright." She whispered in return. "I'm going to be alright."

How she wished she could believe that one.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "You're to goddamn stubborn to let this beat you." He slipped from her arms, only to feel masked lips kiss her gently on the forehead, and a strong hand cup the nape of her neck so he could do so. It was Kakashi's normal welcoming present.

"How was you're mission?" She smiled, addressing Genma as she heard a chair being dragged towards the bed.

"Good, good. Has Silver top been taking care of you?" Genma sighed and he plopped into the chair.

"Of course, silver top has been taking care of me." Sakura smiled, knowing Kakashi didn't much care for the nickname Genma had give him, reaching out into the darkness for his hand in a playful manner

He saw her intension and brought his hand to clasp into hers.

"Sakura I have something to tell you." He replied.

"Oh?" She inquired and turned her head questionably towards the sound of his voice.

"The meeting I had with Tsunade this morning, the one I told you about, was concerning you." Kakashi replied.

"Me? Sakura blinked enough though it did no good.

"She wants me to watch over you these upcoming months, and stay at your apartment until I'm satisfied you can function completely on your own." He replied

* * *

Ok, new chapter!

I was really surprised to have this many reviews for only the first chapter! But me likey!

So keep em' coming!


	3. Wait The Whisper Chapter

After Kakashi relayed his new found mission to the girl in the bed, she paused for a few minutes in silence to take in all in. Knowing full well that her facial expression undoubtedly resembling a deer caught in the head lights but she didn't care.

"Uh…what?" She finally choked out rather dumbly as the concept of thought didn't really register with her mouth.

"Did you…hear me or is it that you just don't understand?" Kakashi replied cautiously knowing full well that if he pissed the girl off than it would be like all out war with an unbeatable force.

"What do you mean?" She tried again, hoping that this time around she knew what was coming from her mouth.

"Tsunade requested it. She believes it's best to have someone… around…in case you need anything for the next couple of…days. Or weeks." 'Yes that's it Kakashi, put the blame on Tsunade...great thinking man' Inner Kakashi patted himself on the back.

"Around?" Her voice instantly darkened as she regained her senses, mainly the ego on. "You mean a babysitter?" She hissed with venom that he hadn't seen since Ino called her forehead girl in front a guy which Sakura had been currently hitting on. Oh she was pissed then.

Kakashi glanced over to Genma who was staring right back at him, thinking the exact same thing.

'Shit…she's angry.'

"Not quite a baby sitting, a helper is the better word." Kakashi hoped the play on words would fizzle the built up pressure from the pink haired girl.

"Bullshit!" She cried. Kakashi was never a lucky man. "She doesn't think I can handle this! That I'm just lost puppy! Well let me tell you something! I'm not going to let this beat me and I'm going to get through this on my own, you hear me!" She cried with an angry shake of her fist to anyone who was currently watching her.

"She's only doing this because she cares, Sakura." 'Yes keep the blame on her sensei with the awesome strength!' Inner Kakashi warned.

"If she really cared about me or knew me at all, then she wouldn't send a babysitting for me but let me fight this on my own!" Sakura huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Come on Sakura..." Genma tried to reason with the fuming pink haired girl, despite Kakashi's jesters to shut up. "Don't you think it would be nice to have someone around to help you through this time? At least it's Kakashi, your friend and not a complete stranger."

"Genma…" Sakura replied through gritted teeth. "You picked now of all times to go all reasonable on me!"

The brown haired jounin just sighed with a slump of his shoulders.

"I'm so sick of this!" She cried. "I'm so sick of all of this! It's been three days and I haven't even been outside! I'm sick of lying in this god damn bed!" She furiously whipped back the covers and slid her bare legs off the mattress to the floor and stood for the first time. Genma and Kakashi watched on in sadness and worry as she wavered a little with lack of use of her legs.

"I'm so sick of medication that does no use at all!" She reached to the needle that was in her arm and yanked it out. "I'm so sick of tests after tests that determine what I already know I have! I'm sick of wearing this damn dress-" She reached to the helm to rip off her clothes and immediately paused. Remembering that there was two men in her room who where probably watching her with eyes bulging from their heads. "Maybe not so much..." She replied and let the dress go.

"But most of all I'm sick of no one believing in me." She whispered and proceeded to the door, her hands out into the darkness to judge where she was. Shrugging off the hands that came out to stop her, and ignoring the 'Sakura, waits' and 'you're not up to its'' as she finally hit the doorframe and felt around for the knob before whipping the door open and walking out into the hallway.

Immediately she collided with a body and with a very un-lady like 'umph', she toppled over to the floor.

"I'm so very sorry young lady," Came a soft elderly man's voice from the darkness.

"That's ok." She whispered and pushed herself up.

"Sakura are you alright?" Genma's voice came with a gently touch to her forearm, which she immediately shrugged off, hot tears stinging her eyes and threatening to fall.

'Don't start crying now, not after you're speech of being strong!' Inner Sakura shouted.

"I'm fine, leave me alone…" She once again reached her hands out and felt her way down the hospital hallway.

"You should go after her," Genma replied to Kakashi who nodded in agreement.

"Do me a favor and tell Tsunade of where the mission stands…or tumbles horribly to its death whatever the current situation is at this moment." He sighed and after stuffing his hands into his pockets, walked after her.

* * *

It was so noisy. So much that she had to be in the town now, although everything else was the same. She didn't remember it being so loud and rushed when she had her eye sight, but maybe that fact that she had her hearing not seeing gave everything more volume.

She was still feeling around for anything that she might accidentally bump into, and every once and a while she would hit something or someone. She was apologize quickly and be on her way, before they began wise to the fact that she was a ninja without sight. They would only laugh, or worse try to help her. She wanted neither.

* * *

Tailing the pink haired girl at a safe distance, Kakashi was invisible to the women who didn't know he was there. Yet even though she couldn't see him, he was constantly watching her. He didn't really know where she was going and doubted that she knew where she wanted to go. She was so damn stubborn.

Kakashi suspected that she feared he was following her, or Genma was, and that's why she was in such a rush to get away. And why she was constantly bumping into people or poles on her way. He had enough faith in her to know that she could easily find her way around if she would just calm down and focus her other senses to her favor.

But then again, this was Sakura we were talking about.

* * *

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, which just happened to be in the middle of the busy part of town, and as the people walked around her she was unaware of the dirty looks she received.

"Raman." She whispered to herself. Finding that disgusting smell of such foods strongly in the air, and she normal wouldn't move towards the smell, but where there was Raman there was Naruto.

Following her nose she directed herself where she could only guess to be the way towards the shop.

* * *

He saw his target pause mid street and Kakashi did the same. Watching curiously as she lifted her head slightly as if to sniff the air, before turning towards to Raman Hut.

'There you go' Kakashi grinned with pride.

* * *

She felt around hoping to touch the flap and entrance into the hut, and smiled with happiness as she finally made contact.

"Naruto?" She called out as she stepped through into small opening, accidentally bumping her knee to one of the chairs. She winced and tried to shake it off.

"Naruto's not here, young lady." She heard the cook reply. Her face fell.

'Damn it.' She sighed and turned to leave, thinking that maybe she would try his house….If she could find it, doubting that it smelt terribly like Raman.

"But…" She paused when he spoke up again. "I do expect him in…3…2…1"

"Raman!" Came the voice of none other then Konoha's number one noisy ninja himself. Bursting through the entrance in perfect timing with the cooks' prediction. Before she could be happy to see him, Sakura could only sweet drop with slight embarrassment at how good of friendly terms he was with the cook. She knew he loved the food, but never quite knew how much he lived his life around it.

"Sakura?" She heard him inquire.

"Naruto…" She sighed with relief. "I'm so happy to see-…happy to hear from you." She corrected herself.

"Are you out of the hospital already? It's only been three days." Naruto replied.

"I checked myself out…" She blushed as she subconsciously pulled down the continually rising hem of her flimsy hospital gown.

"I see." He had a smile in his voice. "And the first place you came to was Raman? I thought you hated the stuff." He placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her find her way to a chair.

"I loath the crap, but I knew you'd be here soon or later." She nodded when she sat comfortably on the chair.

"You wanted to talk with me? About what? Raman, please!" Naruto added to the cook.

"What the hell else would you want?" The cook retorted and turned to make his order.

"Um…I want to whisper it…so…" She said in a hushed tone, and once Naruto's eye came into her close proximity, she whispered. "Do you see Kakashi following me?"

"Hmm Kakashi?" He asked.

"Shhh! Shut up!" She chided, wincing at the volume of his voice in fear that Kakashi would hear.

He took a second to glance around the street, finding civilian, after civilian after…Suddenly the silver haired Jounin popped into view, and Naruto reserved a solute in hello from the man who stood across the street.

"Yeah, he's just standing across the road. Kakashi-Sensei, come join us!" The loud mouth screamed over the noise of the town.

"What no!" Sakura cried in mortification. "Can't you see I'm trying to get away from him you monkey!" She hissed. "Stay where you are!" She screamed over to the man she was avoiding.

Naruto saw the man rest a hand to his ear. "He didn't hear you." The blonde replied.

"I said-" She started to scream, but immediately stopped. "Oh never mind. It's not like that man listens to me any way." She sighed.

"Why are you running away from Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto inquired, and giggled like a little girl when the food was finally placed in front of him. Wasting no time, he stuck his face into the bowl.

"Because he's babying me." She huffed.

"Mhdjbafkuefaf." She heard, but didn't understand in the slightest.

"What the hell are you saying? Get your face out of the food when you're talking to me!" She cried.

"Babying you how?" He mumbled with pieces of stray noodles.

"He's been assigned a mission to watch over me." Sakura replied. "And I'm pissed off!"  
"Why? If it's his mission then he has to do it." Naruto concluded.

"I get that, it's just why the mission was assigned in the first damn place that I'm ticked about. I mean no one trusts me enough to let me deal with this on my own. I'm a chuunin and I'm strong enough to find my way around and go on with my life."

"We know that…" He replied briefly before sticking his head back inside the food for another gorge.

"Then why can't anyone just let me be?" She whispered.

"Cause we care about you, Baka. Haven't you figured that out yet? For such a brain you can be really dumb." Naruto laughed.

"'Because we care about you…' he says... 'Because I'm worried about you' he says. Why the hell does everybody like me so much?" She sighed.

"I don't know." He shrugged, receiving a playful smack on the hand. "Seriously though, even if it is his mission, Kakashi still does this because he wants to. He just wants to help you out, you know."

"Yeah…" She whispered. "But I don't want to be another burden to him. After all this time of seeing each other as more then sensei and student, but as friends, I can't go back to having him feel like he has to protect me."

"Is that the real reason you're mad?" Naruto mumbled with his mouth full. "You don't want to be a pain to him?"

"I got to go, Naruto. It was nice talking to you. Take it easy on the Raman ok?" She smiled and slide from the chair and exited the

* * *

shop.

Naruto took to his food again only to be interrupted by Kakashi moments later.

"You know huh?" The copy ninja sighed.

"Yup. And boy she's mad…but you know Sakura. She always has a deeper meaning to her madness."

"Don't I know it. I'll see you around, Naruto." He replied and after a pat on the back, left to follow her again.

* * *

"Sakura?" Came an all too familiar voice from the noise and darkness.

The pink haired women stopped and listened to see if what she head had just been a trick of hearing, but soon enough another "Sakura, hey!" came.

"Ino?" She asked as a pair of thin arms wrapped around her body and drew her into a set of not so humble breasts. "Ino?" She mumbled.

"Oh Sakura, I'm so sorry about what happened! I can't believe it's true! I'm so sorry for not being able to come see you in the hospital, I was on a mission! I wanted to bring you things and see if that Shikamaru was a lying sack of shit or not! But-"

"Ino! I can't breathe!" Sakura screamed into her friend boobs.

"Oh, sorry!" She replied and released her from what was surely meant to be her death. Immediately the pink haired women gasped for breathes of air which a bright red blush for what the surrounding people might think to see two women in such a posision.

"Hey wait…" Ino said and looked over top of her friends gasping breathes to see none other then the copy ninja standing a good distance back watching the whole scene.

"Sakura?" She whispered in question and she gave the copy ninja a confused look.

"What?" She replied in huge gasps of air.

"Are you aware that a major hotty is following you?" She grinned with girlish glee.

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes at her blonde friend's personality towards men. In particular Kakashi, a man who Ino had not shied back on verbally expressing her attraction for on more then one occasion.

"It's just Kakashi." Sakura replied with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Oh Sakura! I didn't know you were such a tease! Or do you just like it when he's behind you?" Ino inquired.

"INO!" Sakura shrieked in horror.

* * *

He followed her around for what seemed like an hour or so as she felt her away forward past shop after shop and people after people. Now he had no doubt in his mind that she had no idea where she was going, and was probably lost beyond her comprehension, due to the fact that they were now in the middle of a park outside Asuma's residence. Sakura surely wasn't visiting him due to the fact that they had only been introduced once previously by none other then the copy-nin himself.

He was guessing that she was trying to find her apartment or maybe Ino's place but unfortunately neither were anywhere near the direction she was headed. But Kakashi wouldn't tell her that in fear of…well, her anger and inevitable thrashing he was soon endure….but mostly because it would embarrass her immensely to have her independence shot down.

"Kakashi." He finally heard her call to him after the silence which had fallen between the silver haired man and the pink haired girl since that incident at the hospital.

She paused allowing the follower to catch up from the safe distance he was behind, until he came to stand right beside her. From this closeness he could see she was cold and goose bumps graced her skin with the chill in the air. It was almost November after all. No time to be walking around in a paper thin hospital gown at ten o'clock at night without a jacket.

"Yes?" He asked.

"…Where am I?" She whispered and sharply turned her head to hide the blush that broke every rule she had set for herself in being strong and independent.

The copy ninja blinked and turned his head to gaze up at the stars. He knew it.

"You're in the park." He replied, turning back to her. And seeing her swallow a lump in her throat and her blank eyes darting around to nothing in particular as if to see what he said was true,…no. That wasn't it. She knew he was looking at her. He could tell that face anywhere. She was trying desperately not to cry.

She knelt down on the ground and felt around on the floor, feeling the cold whisks of grass. It was true.

"So I am." She breathed and stood up to her full height again.

"Would you like me to walk you home? I could use to the company." Kakashi suggested.

"…Alright." She sighed, and turned to head back in the direction she came from, followed closely by Kakashi.

"You know, I'm extremely hot right now. Would you mind holding my vest for me?" He reached out and grabbed her hand to place the vest he was stripped off his body in her grasp.

She knew exactly what he was doing. Making it sound like it was doing him a favor when really it was meant to help her out. But…if they both made it seem like they were helping the other, then no one's ego would be hurt. Especially hers.

"Sure." She replied and slipped his her hand from his and pulled the vest (which was two sizes too big for her shoulder and chest) over her cold body. His fresh body heat from when he had worn the vest previously immediately warmed her body. It smelt of him too.

* * *

"Here you are…" She lifted her head at the sound of his voice. They had been walking for ten minutes without either saying a single word to the other, and she could only believe that he had been leading her in the right direction to her apartment.

"Okay." She whispered.

"Okay." He replied and moved to walk away. Her breath quickened as she heard footsteps leading further away.

"Kakashi, wait!" She suddenly cried, as if he had made in all the way down the street instead of where he really stood just a few feet away. But he stopped, none the less and turned to her in question.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Would you…I mean I'd like it..." She stuttered. Who knew it was so damn hard to ask someone to-"Do you want to come up?" She finally pushed out of her.

Kakashi raised a single eyebrow. Wasn't she pissed off at him just a few hours ago?

"I don't think I should." He was playing hard to get. He knew it, and she knew it.

"What about you're mission?" She inquired with a 'are you seriously playing of who wants to piss of the pink haired more' tone.

"What about it?" He inquired with a playful tone to his words. He wanted things to be back to normal when they played these games on missions or whenever they had a spare moment in their busy schedule.

"Hatake Kakashi get up to my apartment, now!" She ordered with a hushed tone, pointing behind her to where she was sure the building stood.

He grinned; disappointed that she would miss it.

"Alright alright, if you want me that bad. How can I disappoint my lovely little cherry blossom when she longs for me so?" He chuckled and walked back to where she stood waiting.

"Not so loud, my neighbors will think I'm bringing home a male prostitute or something!" She laughed for the first time in a while. Glad that the silver haired man could always make her smile.

"Oh really?" He inquired. "In that case." He grinned mischievously and before she could tell what was happening, he had taken her in his arms and dipped her into a romantic position. "Come on my sexy pussy-cat, lets have our bodies pressed together and chained to wall while you whip me with the equipment that I bought for you you're last birthday." He replied in a deep voice, deeper then usual, and louder then she would have liked it to be.

"Hey! Not so loud, you idiot!" She smacked in chest where her head was pressed again. "Now they're going to think I'm a fetish queen!" She hissed, with a laugh that Kakashi had even said such a thing.

"Well aren't you?" He thought. Only to receive another smack to the chest, this one not so gentle.

"I most certainly am not!" She expressed her outrage with a hushed tone, and pushed herself from the hold he had on her.

"That's unfortunate because I think that's hot." He said in a playful seductive tone as he lead in and whispered in her ear. "Very hot."  
"I'm sure you do, you pervert. I'm telling you Icha Icha Paradise is bad for you're already very unstable pervert-a-holic." She felt around for the door into her building.

"Is that even a word?" He chuckled and reached for the handle before she could and pulled open the door and ushered her in out of the cold.

"It is now." She laughed.

* * *

New chappy!

Review for cookies!


	4. Talk the talk

Sakura let out a soft breath of air into the silent room she shared with the silver haired man when she blinked a couple times only to have the darkness never once change to light.

Unfortunately Kakashi felt the exhale of air from his pink haired companion against his chest for that was where she currently rested her head on.

"Is something wrong?" He whispered, not wanting to over raise his voice, quite enjoying the quiet. He felt the girl stir against him.

"Everything's wrong." She let of a curt laugh, and buried her face deeper into his warm and safe chest. She loved to just rest with him like this. He was always so warm and comforting that over the span of their friendship, moments where she would just cuddle against him became more frequent.

She knew that he didn't hug people at all, and the closest he would allow her to him was like this. He would sit of the couch and she would rest beside him with her head either against his shoulder or in the case his chest.

He wouldn't touch her back, or even move his arm to sling over her shoulders, but she felt like he enjoyed this none the less. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of just how different they were to one another.

He was more talkative around her and maybe Genma and Asuma, but utterly silent around anyone else useless if was business. She on the other hand was talkative wherever or whoever she was with, any time.

He never ever talked about his feeling to anyone, except her. Well, nothing too personal, everything about him he kept to himself but if it was his opinions, well sometimes she wished he wasn't so opinionated. She feared she talked about herself too much. She knew she had crazy ego on her, hell she needed to! She was a female ninja among men, and if she wasn't going to be a push over she needed to stand up for her self, right? Ah, shit she was talking about herself again.

But whatever differences they shared they sure as hell shared similarities too. Like the fact that both had a healthy sense of humor. Kakashi must be a shocker to think of him as doing the things that they do, but Sakura knew he had a wicked playful side to him. And she loved to laugh and play with him like she never played with anyone before.

And they were both ninja of Konoha strong, proud and able to handle themselves in any situation with calm cool and collected attitudes. Well, maybe it was Kakashi that fit that description more then her, but still.

"What's so funny?" Kakashi's voice snapped her from her thoughts.

"Oh I was just thinking about the time we went swimming with Asuma and Kurenai and Asuma totally pants you." She giggled at the memory that had been the funniest thing to see Kakashi's swimming trucks go floating down the river.

"Oh, yes." Kakashi sighed at the most embarrassing memory to date. "And in retaliation I told Kurenai that Asuma wanted to see her naked."

"And then she punched him into the freezing river? He had a wicked bruise for a week." Sakura laughed, and her head shook when his chest vibrated with chuckles.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Those were good times. I miss hanging out with those two. Where are they, do you know?" She asked.

"Hmmmm." He thought for a moment. "I think they're off in Cloud country on their honeymoon, still. What's it been three weeks? They should be heading back by now." He replied.

"I'm glad that they finally got married. It's able damn time if you ask me." Sakura replied.

"Well, it's hard for ninja to commit to such a thing as marriage. Our schedules don't allow much alone time and most marriages don't last around her." Kakashi sighed.

"I don't believe that." Sakura whispered. "Ninja's for the most part aren't heartless bastards who only live to kill people. I said most. But I would very much like to get married some day in the future. How about you Kakashi?" She inquired.

"Me?" He asked. "Well, I don't know I've never really thought about it." He replied.

"Oh come on. You must have. Every child dreams of their wedding day." She smiled.

"Well, that's mostly girls actually. Boys dream of when they get their first kunai."

Kakashi sighed. "Did you know that Anko and Iruka were once married?"

"What!" She cried in surprise.

"It's true. They were married when…Oh it would have to be when you were just going into the academy. But they were divorced months later."

"Why?" She asked totally interested. She hadn't even known that they were seeing each other let alone man and wife.

"Their schedules didn't allow romance, I believe. Plus Iruka got the shit kicked out of him daily." Kakashi sighed.

"Wow." She could only whisper. "I had no idea."

"I didn't either until the divorce was finalized." Kakashi replied with a yawn. "But by that time I couldn't really give Iruka any advice."

"Advice?" Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, like don't piss her off, something like that." Kakashi bucked his chest she her head lifted off him then collide back against him. She playfully smacked him again for the fifth time that day.

"I believe that's common knowledge. And besides you're advice would have only served to quicken the separation." She joked.

"Oh yeah, and what exactly would make you any better at patching up relationships young grasshopper?" Kakashi inquired.

"First and for most I would have told him to agree with whatever she said. Because it's a universal fact that the woman is always right in a relationship." She nodded with complete confidence.

"Oh really?" Kakashi laughed.

"Yes." She replied staying firm.

"How many times have I had to save your ass on a mission because of mistakes you made?" Kakashi inquired.

"What mistakes?" She stuck her nose in the air.

"How about the time you got us lost because the map was up side down?" Kakashi recalled walking through the pitch black forest in the middle of nowhere, with no clue where they were.

"Common mistake." Sakura shrugged it off.

"Ok, then how about the time you got us stung by a swamp of bees because you proclaimed you found Cheese when we had run out of food?" Kakashi asked.

"That was just funny." Sakura grinned.

"Funny for you, you didn't have bee stings on your-" Kakashi was cut off when Sakura smacked him on the chest with a heavy blush staining her cheeks remembering how much he complained with non stop rubbing of his manly parts.

"Hey! Lady present!" Sakura shrieked.

"How about the time you got a beetle down you bra and proceed to give me a free strip show while trying to get it out? Were you a lady then?" Kakashi remembered that memory with a huge smile. That had been a good day.

"You were a pervert for looking then and a pervert for bringing that up now." Sakura replied, trying to hide the heated blush on her face while thinking 'Oh dear god, what had I been thinking?' "You want to bring up those times, very well." She grinned evilly.

"Oh here we go." Kakashi sighed, knowing all to well that the pink haired chuunin had plenty of hard time embarrassing moments which only she and himself knew about. And you bet your ass that she was very fond of blackmail.

"Remember that time when we got stuck in the snow storm up at Ice country and your pants froze and you ripped a huge hole down the crack of your ass when you bent over?" Sakura fired shot one.

"As I recall you had to sit there in the cave and sow the rip while I was in my underwear?" Kakashi retaliated.

"Oh yeah, well remember the time that one of you Nin dogs was in heat and it tried to rape you?" Sakura fired shot two.

"We said we'd never discuss that." Kakashi warned squeezing his eyes shut to block the picture of that blackest of black days in his history.

"How about the time that you were caught staring at Tsunade-sensei's breast and earned a broken jaw?" Sakura fired shot three.

"You looked at Shikamaru's crotch!" Kakashi fired right back.

"I did not!" She scoffed at the very idea.

"Did so. At the Christmas party that year. You didn't think anyone was looking but I saw you." He chuckled at her embarrassed reaction.

"I did not! Besides he not my type." She frowned and stuck out her tongue when a bad taste entered her mouth.

"When it comes to what you were looking at anyone can be your type." Kakashi replied with that calm and lazy tone that royally pissed her off 9 times out of ten. When they're on a mission, his calmness comes in handy but not right now when discussing a very, very embarrassing and unnerving subject.

'Wait a second,' she thought. 'Why am I talking to my guy friend about this stuff? Kakashi may be good to talk to about safe things but he's a guy!'

"Absolutely not! I'll have you know I look for brains and personality, not crotches and certainly not how big his-"

"Hey! Fragile ears here!" Kakashi cried, finding himself thinking the same thing as his pink haired friend in that department.

"Oh like hell you're fragile! You talk about this stuff with Genma and Asuma all the time I hear you! It's not like you're a saint anyway. Reading those damn dirty books like they were presentable around people." Sakura ranted. "I'll have you know that my parents despised that fact that I hung around you, even if you were the great Hatake Kakashi."

"Why?" Kakashi inquired.

"Because they thought you were warping my fragile feminine mind with such perverted thoughts and such. I must say they were right in that aspect." She smiled.

"Oh no!" Kakashi chuckled. "You were warped beyond believe belief before I even got to you honey!" Sakura huffed. "Besides, I don't talk about this shit with them, well they talk to me but I just tune out. Mostly Genma to, so don't rat Asuma out. They have at least three months until everything goes into the shitter."

"Don't talk like that. They're going to make it. Just watch. Not every marriage sucks, my parents were married all the way up until their deaths. And I believe that they truly did love each other. Just as Asuma and Kurenai do."

"Eww. Mushy stuff." Kakashi stuck out his tongue.

"It's so romantic." Sakura sighed.

"See, this is one of the major con factors with having a female for a friend." Kakashi joked and reached out to ruffle her hair as she lifted her hand from his chest in outrage. She hated, absolutely, positively HATED when he did that.

"What are you talking about Cons!" She angry swatted away his hand.

"Girls always want everything is so 'romantic. A guy rescues her and that's sooooo romantic." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Well it is, in the right circumstance." Sakura replied. "Like for instants when a girl gets kidnapped for some dreadful reason, and the man she loves comes to free her... That's romantic. But if that girl happens to be a ninja, well. Not so much." Sakura replied.

"You're a freak you know that?" Kakashi commented. "The guy just comes to get her out of her prison so she doesn't bitch at him about not coming to rescue her."

"That's not true you toad!" She cried. "If he really loves her then he wants her by his side!" She nodded; in her mind she had won the battle.

"Now he has ownership over her?" Kakashi retaliated.

"No! She just wants to love him and he just wants her to be happy. Now, that is romance."

"How would you know? You're too young to know what love is. If there really is such a thing." Kakashi chuckled when she once again rested her head against his chest.

"Of course love exists. But you are right; I haven't experienced it first hand yet. I thought I did. With Sasuke, but it wasn't real." She sighed. "We were just far to different people and I believe that if you truly love someone, then you feel it deep down in your heart that he's the one."

"My god, Sakura for someone so stubborn and self efficient, I didn't peg you for the type to relay all your love for someone just because you 'feel' it." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. No, Sakura didn't seem like that at all.

"I may be tough on the outside but I'm really a softy inside." Sakura immediately whispered she hadn't said that. Time after time she wanted so hard to prove she was strong to everyone but mostly to him. Now she was telling him in was an act?

"I know." H e chuckled. "And I don't think that all your work to be strong is just a cover for your real softness inside, because I know for a fact that it isn't."

'That's freaky how he can read my thoughts like that.' Sakura thought.

"Besides, I think that's the case with all ninja. To show strength even at their weaker state." Kakashi whispered.

"Even you, all high and mighty Kakashi?" Sakura grinned evilly.

"All except for me of course." He grinned.

"Of course." Sakura nodded slowly to herself with a smile. Always with the barrier.

"It's getting late, I should get going." Kakashi sighed and moved to stand up.

"I think you should stay, you have to live with me after all. You can't run away when I'm starting to get deeper into your hidden thoughts anymore, you're just going to have to tough it out. Even if you're really a softly inside." She smiled.

Kakashi gave a curt chuckle and turned back to the women on the couch again. Her eyes unfocused on something beside his head, but still she was smiling.

'A remarkable girl.' He grinned.

"You want me to stay? I thought-"

"I want you to stay. I wouldn't want you to have to walk home alone. Who will be there to protect you?" She smiled, but inside she was saying 'I need you to stay, I don't want to be alone in the dark.' But of course she would never ever say that to him.

"Of course, I forgot." He whispered, and turned to face her again.

"You can have the bed." She replied.

"The couch is fine with me." He yawned, and stretched his arms above his head and plopped back down on the seat next to her.

"Ok then, good night." She whispered and pushed herself up and started feeling her way down the hall with Kakashi watching her constantly.

Once she disappeared into the bed room, he lay back onto the full length of the couch and closed his eyes.


	5. Classic

Kakashi let out a heavily sleepy sigh, as his eyelids lifted slowly revealing his dark orb that hid his mysteries behind a calm and lazy exterior. The foggy sight of what seemed to be a ceiling was the first to greet his awakened state. Blinking back the sleep from his eye his vision cleared finally and his first suspicions of the white thing had been correct and now he took in the clear view of a plain white ceiling.

He distinctively remembered his ceiling being gray… So being the genius he was, immediately figured that he had passed out on someone's couch after killing a few brain cells at the bar the night before.

But, not matter how much his neck felt like a piece of stiff board, he knew that this was no hangover, therefore no drinking, therefore no passing out. He hated the word therefore.

So he was here…voluntarily? What would have possessed him to sleep on someone's couch willing, knowing full well that he hated...repeat HATED, sleeping on couches. They did nothing for his neck and his damn feet; which he could feel hanging patheticly over the edge on the other side. In his apartment he forbided couches, so once again being the genius he was, figured that he was therefore not in his apartment.

So where the hell was he?

His lazy eye scanned his surroundings…Nothing fancy could be seen. A few table stands full of pictures, curtains that did nothing for the blue color of the wall, (but Kakashi wasn't one to judge, his apartment looking like terrible rip off of some abstract artist's piece)…and…Wait...there were pictures on the tables? Pictures had people in them. People that could be candidates for the owners of this apartment, he figured.

One looked like Naruto…one looked like Sasuke…one looked like Sakura…and one looked like...him? Oh, and there was one of Ino and Shikamaru as well.

Then his memory dawned on him. Sakura!

He shot up in on the couch and immediately felt his stiff neck turning him into a Frankenstein, as he searched the rest of the room for the pink haired girl by turning his whole body just to see.

He pushed himself off the couch, and glanced up at the clock in the small kitchen, reading it as 10:00 am.

'Shit…I slept in! God damned uncomfortable piece of crap!' He cursed and gave the furniture a swift kick that lifted the end in the air for a second before walking down the hall towards the room which Sakura had told was hers.

He seriously doubted that she would still be asleep, but when he opened the door, he gazed upon an empty room and sighed heavily.

'Impatient as always...' He thought and zipped up his vest which, lord knows how, had come undone during the night. He walked towards the front door and slipped on his sandals over his bare feet before leaving the apartment.

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He stepped outside into the chilled air, and glanced at either direction of the street that Sakura could have wondered off down. There were immediately a few places that popped into the copy ninja's mind concerning where she could be, but there was no way to be certain. So with that in mind, he stepped down the stairs and turned left towards the market.

His eye glanced from left to right as he searched the market streets, packed with many civilians doing their weekend shopping at ten in the morning. Early bird gets the worm, or in this case, early shopper gets the loafs of bread which are sealing like hot cakes…Maybe not so much.

"Hey, have you seen Sakura? Pink hair; tiny, yay high?" He rested his hand just below his collar bones, as he asked a girl which Sakura sometimes hung around with. "Pink hairs' got to be a dead giveaway." He sighed and let his hand fold into his pockets again.

The short black haired girl blushed at first, noticing who it was that was talking to her, then shook her head. "I'm sorry Kakashi-Sensei, I haven't seen her. But she sometimes shops at this little store just down the way, maybe you can find her there?" She suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Great, thanks." Kakashi replied and turned to continue down the street leaving the girl to turn to her friend and squeal girlishly with a leap of happiness.

"You're welcome, you silver haired God!" The friend cried down the street, but fortunately the man in question was already a fair distance away and did not hear the comment.

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Sakura sighed as she felt around before her for what she was looking for, her soft hand gracing over top of all the items on the shelves of produce and hoping that she was at least searching in the right section.

She made a soft 'oh' sound when her hand touches something that felt like a box of cherries, the sweet fruit that she had suddenly woken up and craved. She reached deeper into box and held up a single twig like object and opened her mouth, slipping the soft round cherries past her lips.

She smiled when she tasted the familiar taste of her favourite food.

"You can get arrested for that you know." Came a voice from the darkness, startling Sakura at first but then the familiar chakra filled her senses and she grinned.

"No one's going to arrest a blind woman." She chuckled and just to spite him slipped the other cherry into her mouth before smiling.

"You're not as innocent as you appear. All they have to do is hear the stories to get enough to convict you." Kakashi replied as he stepped towards the pink haired women, leaning up against the produce ledge beside her.

"Don't start with the stories again. I have enough on you to blackmail your ass for life and you know it." She reached forward and felt around for a box of cherries to put into the basket that hung around her wrist.

Unknown to her, Kakashi spotted a black fruit, reached forward and picked out a cherry that had gone bad, throwing it back among the other boxes.

"Yes, I do." He sighed. Enough memories hey had discussed last night had been plenty to convince him of that little power she had. "But I'm confused, Sakura…" He began, glancing up to the roof above his head.

"Really? What has confused the great Hatake Kakashi?" She chuckled sarcastically and turned to continue in search of more food.

Kakashi followed close in suit, stuffing his hands casually into the pockets of his jounin pants. "I thought we were cool with the whole mission thing. What happened?" He frowned in question even though she couldn't see it. Damn. This whole sudden lose of sight was going to be as much of a change for him as it was for her. He would have to get used to the fact that she would never actually look at him again.

"Oh, we are cool." She smiled, snapping him back to the present and out of his thoughts as she reached beside her to feel for any bananas.

"Then what part of the whole 'me there to help you' deal is giving you trouble?" She felt his hand grab hers and direct her searching to the other side of the isle until she felt the fruit she was searching for.

She frowned to herself, but unknown to her the copy ninja saw it and immediately let her hand go.

"I don't need you for every little thing." She whispered, once again reverting back into that dark serious voice that Kakashi would prefer to avoid. "Besides, you looked so cute sleeping on my couch. I couldn't wake you for such a simple task as shopping." She smiled and picked up a bundle and placed it in her basket.

Kakashi would also have to get used to not immediately jumping in to help her as he always had. He feared that that little problem he had wouldn't just disappear. Sakura thought he was helping her because she wasn't able to do it for herself. In actuality, he did it because he just plainly wanted to help her out. He would have done the same if Genma was in his place….At least he told himself that…Not with the hold hand holding deal…would have been weird and…odd. And Sakura would probably tease him till the end of his days.

"Your couch almost broke my neck, I'll have you know; I hardly look cute with my damn feet hanging half way off the other end. And as for the shopping part …you are aware that you have diapers in you basket, when I can only guess you meant to pick up some pads?" Kakashi inquired earning a vibrant red blush from the women before him, at the information which she could only trust was true. The sudden wide open view of weakness almost wanted to make her cry, but, like any stubborn person would do, chose anger instead.

'Damn it! They must have switched the two sections!' She inwardly screamed at her mistakes. She at least thought that she could go by memory around the store, but she didn't count of renovations.

"You bastard!" Sakura outwardly screamed and reached inside her basket, whipping the plastic bag in the direct she hope stood Kakashi. She got a satisfaction in hearing him catch the bag before it could hit him, but got a disappointment when she reached into her holster to find her kunai missing.

"Hey, now." She snarled angrily at his chuckle, royally pissed that he could find humor in this situation. Did he not know her at all! "Oh and I borrowed you weapons…hope you don't mind." He added conveniently after the fact that she had reached and found nothing.

Sakura let of a grunt of frustration and withdrew her hand.

"Why are you here! I don't need anyone fucking with me ok! So if that's all you want then just leave me alone!" She snapped and turned to briskly walk away, hoping that once…just this once, that he wouldn't follow her.

"Sakura, wait." He replied and jogged behind her, lightly touching her arm to stop her from running into the shelves that stood before her, but she shrugged it off and spun around, glaring dangers at where she could only hope was his eyes, when in reality was his chest.

"Why are you still here?" She snapped again, shutting her eyes when the realization that glaring down his eyes was a hopeless mission. Damn, she always thought that her glare was a powerful one.

"I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean-"

"You never mean to do anything, it just happens. But I don't have time for your bullshit." Sakura replied and shifted her head to the side, to hide her face.

"I apologize, I went too far...I should have remembered that you sensitive about you're diapers." Kakashi sighed, chuckling as Sakura made a face of pure horror and reached out her hand to push him backwards...But this time with a smile on her face.

"You're such an insensitive jerk!" She cried in outrage. "I'm pissed at you and you make a fucking joke!" She laughed, knowing that she should stay angry at him but finding it impossible. In her mind he was always the one that was there, to help her, to befriend her, and to talk to her. She could be pissed all she wanted but all those fun memories they discuss the other day would always cloud her fury.

"What else would I do? You know I hate that all that serious stuff." Kakashi reached beside him and grabbed a pear, pulling down his mask for a brief second (since they were in public) to take a bite of his new food. "I'm like Genma in that way…That's a scary thought." He whispered to himself, with his mouth full.

"It's because you're scared of having such a heart to heart discussion, when you want to pretend you don't have one. A heart I mean." Sakura replied, she sighed when she heard a scoff in response. "And I thought you scolded me on tasting un bought food a moment ago, now you're doing it!"

"Didn't you know? I have connections." He replied and took another bite, just to spite her, just as she had done to him.

"Connection with who exactly? Genma? He'll fuck you over more so, rather then help you out." She chuckled at the very thought of summoning such a man to defend ones case.

"And I'm not scared of having a heart to heart discussions, I just choice not to have then. And I have a heart; I wouldn't be alive, conversing in a grocery store with my favourite pink haired lady, if I didn't." Kakashi's eye curved despite knowing that she couldn't see it.

Sakura sweet dropped. "A little delayed reaction there? Besides I'm the only pink haired lady you know…" She replied and turned to once again continue with, what she hoped, would be a no further argumentative shop.

"Hence favourite." Kakashi replied and followed her. "..But also…not favourite. Depends on the situation at hand." He smirked when she scoffed in mock outrage.

"Bullshit, you adore me!" She smiled and turned around to face him, putting on her best smile. The one that always worked with getting her way or to get forgivness for something she did. Or this one, which was merely because she wanted to.

"I adore you? Isn't that going a little too far there, Sakura-Chan?" He leaned in to lightly flick her nice, cute button nose. He always found her nose adoreable, but like alot of things, would never tell her that. Partly because she didn't need any more ego burst then she already has...and partly because, well, it never came up in conversations.

"Oh, you are so lucky I don't have a knife with me, but I very easily just slip to isle three to get one so watch it!" She snapped, hating that stupid 'Chan' crap he would put on the end of her name whenever he was teasing her, but hating his very demeaning tap to her nose. And in public too!

"Yes ma'am." Kakashi said sternly, but she knew that he didn't mean it. "Are you done?" He asked.

"..Yep. Why, are you in a rush to get somewhere?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, leaning in with a smirk to match her evilness, she added. "A date perhaps?"

"Nope, you're still the only women in my life." Kakashi sighed earning a chuckle from his pink haired friend.

"That is the saddest thing I've ever heard. Let's go." Sakura reached out to link her arm with his, surprised that she could make contact the first time but showing off an exterior which read 'hell yeah, I can't take of myself.'

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"You know what…I just remembered…" Kakashi thought out loud as he and Sakura walked down Main Street, her arm still linked with his due to the fact she didn't mind it being there and neither did he.

"What?" Sakura inquired, swinging the bag of groceries in her hand.

"Genma's Birthday is coming up…" Kakashi sighed and lazily rubbed the back of his messy yet strangely soft silver hair.

"Is that a bad thing? Genma always has to best parties!" Sakura smiled, finding herself something to look forward to besides awaiting for Kakashi to walk her to work every morning. Now that, she couldn't work would mean less and less time she could just be with him.

"He's probably gonna want to do something involving a strip club and/or strip poker. Either one involves naked people running around and waking up with a hung over the next day." He replied.

"You're the only man I know who wouldn't be over ecstatic to see half naked women around you." Sakura smiled and gave her silver haired companion a nudge of her elbow, and in turn recieved a small grunt which made her realise that she had aimed a good shot to his rubs.

"It's not just naked women, Sakura." Kakashi mumbled, trying to get the disturbing image of Genma skinny dipping with some strange girls he just met. Sakura giggled as she heard Kakashi make a disgusted groan to whatever he might be seeing in his mind alone. "Besides that fact, you're gonna be there and that would be weird." He commented offhandedly

"Weird? How so?" Sakura inquired. "Because I'm a woman? Are you shy to be around me with other women, Kakashi?" She smirked and leaned closer into the man at her arm, and he in turn inched away. "Yesterday I thought you wanted to see me in chain when you whipped me? What happened to that little idea?" Sakura smirked when Kakashi's 'shhhh' sound rang in her ears, followed by a few _'did you here thats' and 'whip's a chains?'._

"I don't want to be playing or witnessing strip poker with my female friend. Because then you might discover what a fantastic body I have and fall madly in love with me. Then what would I do, huh?" Kakashi reached over to rub the top of head, messing up her once mildly straight hair. She growled and smacking it away with her grocery bag, before smirking evilly. In her mind thinking of the perfect ego-shut down that she could shoot at him.

"Come on how many times have I seen you're body and I'm still not even feeling butterflies, Mr. hot-shot? It's nothing special if you ask me." She smiled, when she heard him sigh and felt the slouch of his broad shoulders with the immediate drain of his natural male ego.

"That was cold." He mumbled.

"Want some hot tea?" Sakura asked cheerfully beside a man who was anything but.

"You better buy me tea after a comment like that." He replied, and ushered her to the left towards a nice place that served a fine tasting Japanese tea that Sakura had deemed to be her favourite months ago. "That really stung."

"Cheer up, Kakashi, it's about time that someone didn't immediately melt into butter before the devilishly hansom Hatake Kakashi." Sakura sighed, as she felt the cold rush of air hit her face when the silver haired man opened a door.

"What are you babbling about?" Kakashi sighed. "Table for two, please." She heard his tell some unseen person. But, of course everyone was now _unseen_ to her.

"Follow me." Sakura heard a women reply, and Kakashi's body start forward, leading her through the darkness that was now her sight.

"Oh, so you're going to tell me that you've never noticed? You're such a man." Sakura chuckled, as she felt Kakashi stop his walking and slip from her arm. She reached out and felt around until her hand touched the smoothness of the small table on the ground by her feet. She slid herself onto the pillow behind the table and reached her head in the palm of her hands, elbows on the table.

"You're just figuring that out?" Kakashi asked as he did the same.

"More so now. Don't tell me that you're never noticed how all the girls you come into contact with make goo-goo eyes at you and run hope to enter your name into their diaries under 'Then Man I'm Going To Marry'?" She laughed at the very thought, but stopped when she realized she used to do that with Sasuke.

"Wow, and you said all that in one breath? You've improved you stamina." Kakashi nodded to the women who slid the menus onto the table.

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped. "It's sad, really. That they instantly fall for you just because of your looks, but have no idea of what horrible personality awaits them." She smiled sadly to herself, before a finger lightly flicked her nose. She twitched and reached out to smack away the hand that had long since been withdrawn.

"Damn it, Kakashi." She hissed.

"You think I'm hansom?" Kakashi inquired with a high pitched voice that expressed confusion.

"Is that all you heard out of my whole sentence!" Sakura cried in outrage. "And, no, I do not think you're hansom. I think you have the right idea in wearing that mask, actually." She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for her insult to take effect.

"Oh, you don't mean that. You really do think I'm cute…don't you?" Kakashi replied as if figuring it out for the first time, suppressing a chuckle when the faintest tint of a blush graced her features.

"How do you go from hansom to cute?" She inquired with a huff.

"Aww…So you do think I'm hot." Kakashi smiled when she blushed harder, enjoying how mere words could make her fluster so.

"Stop changing the word, damn it! I may think you're hansom but cute and…hot…are totally out of the question." She nodded to end the conversation, but not for Kakashi who pressed further. "I can't believe how self-obsorbed you can be." She whispered.

"Wait till I tell everyone you think I'm sexy." Kakashi chuckled, completely ignoring her pervious comment. "I guess that it can't be helped, though...I am devilishly hansom, aren't I?"

"I'm just going to ignore you…" Sakura mumbled.

"Aw, don't do that Sakura-Chan. I'll stop, I promise." His eye curved up into his signature smile, forgetting, once again, that she was unable to see such a gesture.

"You better…'Cause you know what…I think you think I'm pretty, so there!" Sakura smiled as if she had gotten he upper hand finally, but was immediately shot down when he replied…

"Of course I do."

The simple comment made her smile slowly slip from her face, and her arms go limp over her chest. Her eyes widen slightly and she wished so much for her eyes to clear and she could see his face at that moment. Just to see if he was smiling or serious…if it was just a game or if he truly meant it.

But she couldn't see anything but black, so she slowly shut her eyes.

Opening her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by the waiter's voice.

"What can I get for the two of you?" The cheerful voice startled her a bit, as if contrasted drastically with the quiet conversation between her self and the copy ninja.

Kakashi was the first to order, not taking his ever watchful eye off of the flustered woman across from him. "Just a cup of you house tea, thanks."

"And you, Ma'am?" Sakura knew that she was addressing her.

"I'll have the same...thanks." Sakura replied in a low tone. In truth she was still overcoming the initial surprise of the comment which was never said to her by another person who wasn't a family member. Should she thank him for saying it? Or ask him to say it again in fear that she had miss heard him and all these feelings were a misunderstanding.

Instead, when the waiter left, the pair fell into one of their rare silences. Something that didn't happen unless; A) they had a fight, which ( surprise) wasn't at all common. Or B) one had said something they shouldn't have, this on the other hand was quite common. But this was neither. This was something different.

"Are you surprised?" Kakashi's voice snapped her head up.

"What?" She asked, hearing him perfectly due to the quietness of the empty teahouse,( they had just opened after all and Sakura figured that they were the first customers of the day) but responeding with more of a 'expalin yourself ' what.

"Does that surprise you? Me thinking you're pretty?" He asked so innocently that Sakura had to tilt her head down and fiddle with her hands which were in her lap as she tried to think of what to say.

"…Not surprised necessarily…" She began, both physically and mentally fumbling with her words.

"Why, hasn't anyone told you that before?" He sounded curious, as if the fact that indeed no man had ever told her that before surprised him somehow. Why?

"..Well, my mom used to say it to me… but no men have ever told me that…" She blushed, wishing that she could just keep her mouth shut. "You may be my friend but you're also a guy…I haven't forgotten. But it's not like I've been waiting for someone to say it to me. I don't need to here I'm pretty, nor do I think that I am, it's not a 'I don't need to hear because I know it' deal either...I may think that I'm okay looking once and a while, but my freakishly weird hair always gets into my mind...I'm babbling aren't I?" She gave a nervous chuckle and shut her mouth.

Kakashi blinked and just stared at her in silence for a good moment, before their tea arrived.

They drank in silence once again, until Kakashi took it upon himself, for the second time that day, to save them from the uncomfortable pause in conversations.

"...You don't hair freakishly weird hair.." He mumbled into his cup of tea as his lips sipped at the warm liquid.

"..." Sakura didn't reply.

"In fact...I think that many girls would kill, pardon the pun, to have such a unique visual inwhich you're colour gives off daily. And honestly...the world we're living in makes it weird not to have pink or silver hair, am I right?"

"...I guess so. But I've always been so self causious about my looks, it may be a surprise 'cause I've learned a few trick here and there from Ino about how to mask it...but inside...I'm always scared that people will look at me and see how large my god damn forehead is, or tease me about my bublegum colour hair. Kids used to call me Hubba Bubba, by the way."

"..." Kakashi paused for a second to set his tea down on the table before contibuting. "They used to call me cluck-cluck the Kaka-Duck..." He sighed, painfully reliving the images and sounds of those days.

"Huh?" Sakura lifted her head with confusion.

"Because of my hair, you see...They teased me because my hair looked like a rooster...Of course 'cluck' doesn't rhyme with...rooster,...so the little poets gave me the , uh...duck...nickname instead...Little bastards..." Kakashi scoffed and turned his eye down to his tea again.

Sakura remained silenct for a second as the surpise of her silver haired man suddenly revealing a hidden memory of his past to her without her even asking. Anyone would be shocked really.

But soon, she found herself chuckling quietly to herself, trying to stiffle the ever growing volume and level of her laughing.

Kakashi lifted to his gaze to her in an instant when he heard her giggling to herself.

"...Are..Are you laughing at me?" He chuckled in moke outrage, finally pushing Sakura over the edge and she burst out into a wholehearted laugh.

"I'm...Sorry.." She chocked out over her loud laughter, reaching down to hold her aching side and furiously trying to whip away the tears from her curved eyes.

Kakashi smiled and bent forward to silently watch as she tried to compose herself, but failed miserably.

_It was nice to see her smiling again...but the fact she was laughing...It made his heart sore to hear her laugh like that again._


	6. Gravity

Welcome to a new chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sakura gripped the chains of the swing and ran her sandled foot back and forth over the pebbled ground of the childerns playground. The wind blew the hair off her face and she raised her chin to inhale a deep cleansing breath.

"Kakashi?" She called out to the man who was probably leaning crossed armed against the legs of the swing structure, reading a book which would make woman cry with embarressment and childern weep with horror.

"Hmmmm?" He replyed.

"Have you ever noticed how boring life is when we're not on a mission, or have any previous engagments?" She asked and whipped the stray group of hair from her forhead and let it blow freely with the wind once again. Kakashi lifted his head with amusment and turned to face the woman seated next to him.

"'Previous engagments?" He chuckled. "Has you're free time been spent in 1800's england?"

He saw her brow frown," Just answer the damn question Hatake." She growled, causing Kakashi to raise his eyebrow with curiousity concerning what had brought on this serious disscusion. He must be losing his touch because never before on any occasion had he had the ability to catch on the the mood switch of this complicated young woman. Then again, isn't that mystery of a woman's mind what captivates the sex known as men?

"Boring? No, I could never discribe days of laying around reading without a care in the world, as boring." He replyed, turning back to his novel. "Oh, and I'm on a mission, remember?"

"On that note, I was wondering..." Sakura used her legs to push herself back until she released the tension and allowed herself to swing forward, pumping her legs to take her higher. "Exactly how much are you getting paid to 'watch over me'? You, know I've never been on the client side of the ninja career." She let the swing take her into the wind then away from it in a form of a dance. Sakura waited for an answer...and waited...and waited. What the hell, it wasn't a complex question; it didn't require ninja IQ. "Well?" She demanded.

"Well, what?" Was his reply.

"How much?"

"I'm sorry, didn't you want me to answer that? You continued onto another topic so i natural thought-"

"Shut up, and answer the question." She dragged her feet against the pebbles until she was still again.

"If I shut up I can't speak, therefore, I can't answer-"

"I swear to god I will kill you in your sleep." She warned. Kakashi sighed then, and she heard him clasp his book closed and unlatch his pouch and relatch it once the book was safely tucked away.

"You know I can't tell you. And no amount of puppy dog eyes or pleading or death threats will motivate me to abandin my high moral code of a jounin ninja." He pushed himself off of the railing and tucked his hands into his pockets.

She scoffed. "Moral code, my ass. You'll abandin it for a chocolate bar."

"Twix are my weakness." He sighed with sarcasism. "Come on. We should get home, it's almost sunset." Sakura's blank eyes lifted, beacuse, of course, she couldn't see the change in lighting.

"And we wouldn't want you to miss your bedtime." She slide herself off the seat. "Come on, let's get a drink." She offered instead.

"Sorry, drinking and you do not mix without severe consequences. Besides, I need a shower." Kakashi noted and waited for Sakura to approach him." And you could do with one yoursel-" He was abruptly cut off when she leaned in close to him, tucking her nose in the spot where his neck was viewable between the neck of his vest and inhaled a long breath. She leaned back after that with the same expression she would have if she just inhaled the scent of a bowl of soup. Kakashi, on the hand, had the expression of someone, well, someone who was just on the receiving end of a smiff.

"Yeah," She replyed. "You really could do with a shower."

"...Did you just smell..me?" He whispered in shock.

"I;m begining to regret it though." She laughed and made a of like someone who smelt an unpleasent scent.

"What do I smell like?" He linked his arm with hers and allowed her to shift to a poistion inwhich she was the one holding him. "I bet it's something manly like beer or steel."

"Try grass and steel." Sakura replyed.

"Ah, so i got one out of the two." He lead them from the park and down onto the street in the direction of her home.

Kakashi opened the door and took to silently watching the pink haired girl cautiously entering behind him, insuring that if she should trip of the threshhold, he would be able to catch her. She didn't, overstepping the danger in precaution and allowing him to close the door behind her.

"Now," Kakashi sighed. " Can I take a shower without you scampering off?"

Sakura turned to where his voice was coming from and held her hand across her heart, proclaiming that she was done scampering for the day. Then offered him a small smile which Kakashi recieved.

"Alrighty." He chirped and on the way to the bathroom, ruffled her hair in an affectionate manner, which wasn't recieved kindly and moved him to avoid a punch which was probably aimed at his head but fell short towards him left nipple.

Sakura bent down and untied her sandles. Reaching around for the wall, she set the pair of shoes against it then rose to walk into the livingroom. The couch was right where she remembered it and she plopped down with a heavy sigh. The bathroom water, by that time was running and interuppting the silence of the apartment, but Sakura wasn't complaining. Hearing him when she couldn't see him, was enough to make her feel secure and safe. As if the running water was keeping her mind from leaving her body in search of a less complicated situation. But, that's the the copy ninja, it stayed and mulled things over.

Truth be told the idea of never seeing again hadn't completely sunk in yet. As if she was buying her time until she could open her eyes one morning in the future and have them work. Reason was telling her that that would never happen yet hope was telling her to wait it out.

She was lost.

Tucking her legs under her, she sat back and curled herself against the armrest and let her blank eyes shut.

When Kakashi emreged from the bathroom to find Sakura asleep on the couch, he curved his eye with a smile and approach the sleeping girl with ninja steath. Pausing before her, he took in the sight of a girl who was currently without worry. Taking comofrt in the fact that she had till morning to build enough courage to deal with everything all over again. He leaned down and carefully tucked the strand of hair that had fallen over her nose behind her ear, noting something that he had know for many years now; which was just how beautiful she was.

Knowing that she couldn't possible be comofrtable on the couch, he decided to take her to bed and moved to slide his arms under her knees and arms and pulled her body up into his arms. She sturred only once on the way to her room, but didn't wake, instead she tilted her face into the warmth of his long sleeve shirt he worn to bed and rested her hand on his chest. He pulled back the covers and set her down, he had almost tucked her in when a series of knocks at the door startled her awake. She shot up in bed and reachout out for him. Kakashi knew she had intended to grab his hand, but instead her hand landed firmly on his thigh. He knew she was reaching for his hand because the look on her face said that she didn't mean to grab what she had.

"I'm sorry!" She cried and withdrew her hand as if it had been burnt.

"Don't worry about it." Kakashi replyed with a stratch to his cheek with hidden embaressment.

"Was that the door?" Sakura changed the subject rather quckly.

"I believe so."

"Well, answer it." She demanded.

"...But I'm not dressed."

"...Yes...you are." She chuckled nervously." I felt your shirt and pajamia pants...You are..wearing pants..right?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle.

"I find them too constricting." He reasoned, noticing the heated blush that creeped up her cheeks.

"Oh my God!!" She yelped in outrage, tossing back the covers and rolling to the opposite side of the bed to get off. "You're not wearing any pants!!" She screamed and pointed her twitching finger in the general direction of his form, eyes wide with horror and heated red like a tamato.

"What's the problem? It's not like you're going to see anything?"

"What if I bump against you! They say that when you're blind your other sences become stronger!!!!" She seemed embaressed by exaclty what she was saying and quickly burid her face in her hands. Kakashi, on the other hand, was much calmer and pleasently surprised at how much he was enjoying her outrage.

"Don't worry, I'm wearing Boxers, and...Sakura," He chanted. "..You're blushing."

"No I'm not!" She gave a rapid shake of her head.

"Yes, you are." He chuckled.

The knock was heard again. He sighed at the interupption.

"I'll get it.",and left the room before she had a chance to stop him. Opening the door he came face to face with the smug smile of Genma.

"Am I interuppting something?" He asked with a cross of his arms. Kakashi opened his mouth but before he could reply, Sakura's clumsy form came stumbling into view.

"HE JUST GOT OUT OF THE SHOWER!" She cried to anyone who might be listening. That someone just happened to be Genma, the womanizer of all womanizers.

"Did he now?" The jounin turned his mock disapproving glance at the silver haired man.

"Did you want something, Genma?" Kakashi sighed, wanting to end this late night evening of misunderstandings.

"Genma?" Sakura asked and started forward towards the voices, arms outstretched knowing there were quite a few objects standing between them and her.

"As by now you must know that my birthday is approaching fast-"

"You should know by now that I'm not getting you anything." Kakashi retorted as Sakura finally was able to stand in the door by the front the two.

Gemna chuckled and twirled the senbon around in his lips. "All I want is for you to be there...and to buy a round of drinks." He added.

"I see." Kakashi sighed.

"Sakura-Chan!" Genma chirped and pranced forward to take her hands in his. Surprising the blind girl in the process. "Of Course you're invited too! It wouldn't be a party if you weren't there!" Sakura whinced and withdrew her hands.

"Don't get too excited; it's not as if I'm going to be wearing booty shorts." She replyed with disgust, the smell of his cologne burning her nose and inching on a sneeze.

"Now that gives me an idea!" Genma grinned and rubbed his chin in thought. Knowing that look could bring nothing but trouble, Kakashi was quick to ask what exacly he was planning. "A custume party! Anything goes of course."

"Of course." Both Kakashi and Sakura mumbled.

"It'll be perfect since it's so close to Halloween! I've got to tell the others." He turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Kakashi stopped him before he could. "That's all you wanted to say? It's almost 9:00, you couldn't have told us in the morning?"

"Nope. It couldn't wait." Genma replyed before leaning close to Kakashi and whispering. "Make sure to wear protection when playing 'ninja and client' ."

Genma left with the help of Kakashi's foot up his ass.

"A custume party?" Sakura whispered.

"Looks like it." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Yep, this party would most definatly be the most pervert one to date.

"They're all going to be naked, aren't they?" Sakura sounded almost afriad to ask.

"Of course." He replyed and turned to her, resting a hand on her bare arm. She was cold. "Anyway, it's late. You should get some sleep." She nodded in agreement and turned to slowly make her way throuhg the darkness towards her bedroom, as Kakashi's eyes rested on the couch. Dreading another night on that uncomfortable sack of crap.

The night of Genma's birthday party had finally arrived to mix reviews. Genma, of course, was reacting like a child just before a trip to disneyland; a disney land full of half naked woman and vodka. Most of the guests, being guys, were remembering the party last year and waiting with anticaption for the half naked woman anad Vodka. But Kakashi felt like he was wlaking towards a burning building. His custume, a creation of lack of imagination and will power, consisted of a Heavy fake gold chain around his neck. He said he was a 'gangster'.

Sakura said he was boring. She of course, chose to go as a vampire. And with the help of Ino, soon the costume was stripped down to into most primitve image. A black and red corset that made her breasts defy gravity and showed her midsection, a black skirt that touched the floor but slit up the sides way too far, according to Kakashi, and a pair of high heels that wrapped around her calfs and looked painfully uncomfortable. Sakura said they actually weren't that bad and that she had been forced to were heels during a mission a while back. The heels were all in all the least worrisome part of the costume and he couldn't help but think Ino was taking advantage of Sakura's lack of sight, but since Sakura herself made little to no objections, a vampire was what she went as. One plus, however, was that he actually liked the fangs that escaped down her bottom lip.

"I'm glad that I won't be able to see the sluty outfit Ino's going to be wearing." Sakura replyed as they walked arms linked down the street toward the rented hall.

'You're not all that far off.' Kakashi thought but never said.

Sakura continued. "And there's going to be strippers,if Genma didn't get hit by a bolder last night and forget that he was a complete pervert."

"That's not likely to happen." Kakashi retorted.

"But forget all that!" Sakura demanded. "We're gonna have a great time tonight, right!" She nudged his arm and he chuckled for a second before carefully reminding her not to get carried away.

"You have a tendency to, after all. And I'm just warning you, before you decide to challenge Ino to a drinking game."

"Don't worry! I always win." She gave a firm nod of her head as if that was enough to convince Kakashi. It wasn't, however and upon reminding her of the whole throwing up deal and hangover afterwards asked if anyone could really "win" that game.

"Me, on the other hand, can maintain my alcohal." He assured her.

"Whatever,cluck-cluck that kaka-duck." Sakura giggled knowing that would strick a nerve with the silver haired man.

"See! I should have never told you!" He scoffed and Sakura was quick to apologize mid giggle.

"Don't say that! I'm sorry, I'll never bring up that quote-unquote 'emotionally damaging' nickname again." She held up three fingers before him." Scouts honour."

"Alright, you're forgiven." He sighed. "For now."

"Good. Because we're going to have a great time tonight!" She assured him with another nudge in the arm.

"You said that already."

As they walked the last distance towards the entrance to the hall, Kakashi could already see the sort of custumes fitting of a Genma birthday party. A Barbie, he overheard the woman say she was 'disco barbie', but she could have passed for 'hooker barbie' easily. There was wonder woman, but it wasn't any different then the normal custume, and a bunny rabbit with matching ears and tail.

Kakashi sighed with embarresment. 'Honestly, doesn't anyone have any dignity anymore?'

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Sakura giggled, she having overheard his reaction as they approached the loud music. "Have you already seen some bunny rabbits and strippers?"

He grunted in response, as he opened the steel door and guilded his pink haired companion into the dark room. It was only one huge room, but packed heavily with ninja he's heard of but fortunatly hadn't met. Konoha was a large village and it was easy to go almost an entire lifetime without being introduced to all of them. It was a given, however, that most were civilians.

Glancing down at Sakura, he saw a wide smile planted on her lips. She was probably looking forward to this, even if she didn't admit it to himself or Genma. Come to think of it, she hadn't really the occasion to look foreard to since the loss of her eye sight. He decided to let her enjoy this evening.

"What does it look like?!" Sakura shouted over the music and shouting of other people.

"A mess." Kakashi mumbled.

"What?!" She hadn't heard him. Hell, over the extreme volume of the sounds, he hadn't heard himself.

"It's dark!" Kakashi shouted. "Lots of people! Food, booze and half naked woman!"

"Only woman?!" Sakura chuckled. .

"Well, Genma's got his shirt off."Kakashi cringed at that moment

Sakura sighed with amusment. "Guess it can't be helped then, huh?" And Kakashi's eye curved up in reply. "Hey, do you see Ino anywhere?"

"Ino?" Kakashi replyed. "Let me see." He chanted and searched the crowds of faces for that of the young blonde girls'. It took a matter of second before he saw her in the far side of the room, sitting in some guys lap and chugging a bottle of beer.

"She's this far gone only a half an hour into the night?" Kakashi sighed.

"Wait, what is she drinking?"

"Beer."

Sakura laughed, covering her mouth with some sort of an attempt of lady like behavior. "Ino's never been known to get drunk on beer alone. Whatever she's doing, she's doing it sober."

"...You're friend scares me." Kakashi replyed.

"She has that effect on many people." Sakura assured him and quickly slide her arm from contact with his, not able to notice the confused look he was giving her at that moment. "Anyway!" She chirped.

"Anyway what?" He forced himself to keep her from hearing a chuckle in his voice.

"I told you that we were going to have a great time tonight, and damn it I meant it! Now, direct me to the booze!" She shouted and gave his an enthusiastic thumbs up.

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	7. You're Drunk

"Rival Kakashi!!!" Came a loud battle cry from behind them, and Sakura immediately felt the man behind her shiver as if the temperature had dropped 20 degrees in two seconds. Sakura turned in the direction of the voice, momentarily forgetting that she didn't have any hope of seeing who it was. She, instead, could only go by memory. "That sounded like Gai-sensei." She commented.

"It is Gai." Kakashi sounded like he had just eaten expired food, and not the one day over the expiration date either, it was like lumpy milk expired.

"What's the matter? I thought you two were friends?" She asked, what she thought was an innocent question, but it turned out to make Kakashi wince as if reaction to nails on a chalkboard.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He scoffed then paused in a deathly still nature. So much that if Sakura's arm wasn't still hooked around his, she would have thought he had left without her notice. After a second of no reply, he forced out an "Oh god….." that sounded like pure and true hell had swallowed him up whole, and he was now looking the devil in the face.

"What?" Sakura asked, hating the fact that she was now out of the loop. "What is it?"

"It's a…flower…".He mumbled in horror at seeing Gai running up to them wearing a green skin tight one piece and huge flower petals arranged around his neck.

Soon, Kakashi stood before a sweaty jounin with a costume that left nothing to the imagination and Sakura was surprised when it was him arm that linked around hers instead of the other way around. She held back a giggle when she realized that he was in need of her protection this time around.

"Rival Kakashi! I have found you at last!" She heard him proclaim in typical Gai fashion and had a mental image of him pointing a challenging finger in Kakashi's face.

"Please change out of that costume." She heard her companion plead like it was life or death. "I'm begging you." The costume must be really horrid, she concluded. And for the second time tonight, she was thinking how lucky she was not to have her sight.

"Absolutely not", He proclaimed in a booming voice that was sure to grab the temporary attention of the people around them. "This costume is a dedication of every flower of youth! This is a dedication to the young woman on your arm as well!" It was Sakura's turn to wince.

"No, that's alright." She muttered, and thanks to the volume of the music, it went unheard.

"What are you, Sakura-Chan?" Gai asked and the pink haired woman snapped out of her trance with a start. She was quick to smile a toothy snarl, to show off the fangs that protruded over her bottom lip and grab her cape as if to shield herself from the light.

"I…" She put on her best vampire impression, which included a thick accent and stern glare ", am a vampire!" She gave her best evil laugh and it earned her a laugh from the taijutsu master as well, who apparently found it all very amusing.

"Very good, Sakura-Chan!" Gai applauded. "And you, what are you supposed to be?" He asked Kakashi, who gave no attempt to act the part of his costume, as he sound replied in a dry, "I'm a gangster." Sakura was unfortunate in that she missed the disapproving face Gai made in response.

"And it was hard enough to get him to wear that." Sakura commented, remembering their little argument when he was going to go as a 'jounin'.

"Halloween has no significance to me." The copy ninja sighed receiving a nudge in the ribs by his female companion. "But apparently it has great significance to this one."

"Of course!" Sakura said in outrage. "Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to go to a proper Halloween party, but every year I had to settle for going door to door with my mother like the other kids."

"Well, is it everything you wanted?" Gai asked. Sakura's eyes curved into smile which was everything but.

"I'm content." She replied instantly switching attributes at her disappointment when she felt Kakashi's eye bearing down on her. "Where are the drinks? I want to get this party stared!" She laughed.

"I'll get them." He said a little too fast as if waiting for a reason to leave has been way overdue, and her felt his arm detach from hers.

Kakashi stood causally at the bar, craving a strong drink but not in any rush to return where Gai was speaking with Sakura. The bartender had his handful with tons of others; he took a free seat at the counter and waited.

"Yo." His eye titled next to him to see Genma leaning against the bar counter beside him. "Glad you could make it." Kakashi blinked in a calm fashion.

"Why don't you have a shirt on?" The copy ninja asked. "Please keep in mind that this is a very public place." The brown haired man gave a chuckle.

"It's my birthday. If you're attending then you are well aware of what you're in store for." He pointed out leaning over the counter to grab the attention of the bartender.

"Good point." Kakashi muttered, wondering why exactly he was here. "Exactly how many dates do you have for tonight?" Genma gave Kakashi a look that made him mutter, "On second thought, I withdraw my question."

"How's Sakura doing? Yeah, I'll have five whiskeys." Genma ordered when the young man was available.

"Make it seven." Kakashi replied and with a deep sigh of exhaustion, the young bartender left to get their orders. "Sakura's fine. A lot more composed then the last time you saw her."

"You can't blame her, copy ninja. Anyone would be frazzled if you were using their shower…naked." Genma chuckled.

"Naked is the proper attire…but that wasn't it, she just realized that I was in my underwear." Kakashi shrugged it off, glancing around from the bartender who had seemed to disappear.

"Again, anyone would be frazzled. And don't give me that, 'I have no clue that woman find me sexy as hell' bullshit either. I figured out a long time ago that you are my biggest competition." Kakashi chuckled.

"..Competition my ass..." He murdered loud enough for the senbon user to hear and react accordingly.

"Like hell you've got more ladies then me! Let me remind you whose came with only one date." He gave an angry slap on the counter and shouted at the unseen bartender obscenities and them reminding him who the hell was paying him.

"Sakura's not my date, and let me remind you that the girls you came with think that the earth is flat." Kakashi sighed in relief as the bartender reappeared with a tray of seven whiskey drinks.

"So they failed geography." Genma shrugged it off and Kakashi grabbed his drinks and stood from the seat.

"Genma, if they told you they failed only one class, and you believed them, then I should think you guys really are the perfect match." Kakashi commented and walked back through the crowd to the sound of Genma's chuckle behind him.

"Drink?" Kakashi asked and rested the cold glass against her fingers so she would know where it was. She grabbed it from him and chugged it down with on gulp before Kakashi had a chance to sit at the table, he watched in amusement as her face twisted painfully and her tongue stuck out in order to dull the burning sensation.

"Do you have any idea what it took to make that man leave?" She replied in between gasps for air.

"Do you have any idea how long it took to get that drink?" Kakashi chuckled, and sipped his own drink through his mask calmly. "I talked to Genma; anyway, he asked how you were doing."

"I'm surprised he's sober enough to care." Sakura replied showing signs of recovery, "I'm sure he's nose high in breasts and alcohol, those girls defiantly got their hands full tonight."

"Breasts and alcohol yes, but I'm not quite sure their hands are doing any of the work." Kakashi sighed and took another sip.

"He's such a perv..." Sakura chided.

"You've got to take Genma in small doses." Kakashi advised. "But, I suppose he's a good guy deep down. He's useful on a mission, as well as during exams, but the time in between in a different matter." He sighed, knowing that his respect for the senbon user looked past his womanizing tendencies.

"He's good for throwing parties." Sakura offered with a shrug. "He's good for making sure I don't have to buy my own alcohol."

"Yes, of all things a jounin should be proud of…"

"Speaking of drinks…." Kakashi titled his head towards her as her upper body leaned in with a goal in mind that was sure to cause him trouble. He knew she wanted a new drink but the problem was, if he was willing to get her one. Upon closer inspection, he saw a pink tint to her cheeks and less capable movement ability.

"No, I'll get you water instead-" He was interrupted by the whine of argument Sakura gave to him, but stood firm. "-Take it slow, tonight. A strong drink, then some water. We'll have a little pattern, alright?" He rose from his seat with a reluctant groan, and strolled away from the table into the crowd once again, careful to take his drink with him.

He didn't make it halfway to the bar when a server passed him with a tray of drinks, so he quickly and quietly stole a bottle of water from the many he had. Turning back to the table, his shoulders sunk with ultimate defeat to see Ino and a group of chunnin guys had gathered around the pink haired girl, and Sakura once again had a drink in her hand.

"What did I just say, Sakura?" Kakashi protested once he had returned, setting the useless bottle of water on the table.

She turned towards his voice, obviously a lot less sober then when he had left her, and smiled brightly. "Ka-ka-shi!" She sounded out ever syllable of his name as if trying to pronounce it. "Hey!" She shouted as he plucked the glass from her hands.

"This is straight vodka, Sakura." Kakashi replied after a quick smell.

"Give it back!" She whined and reached out to grab it back but ended up nowhere near the target. "Kakashi, you bastard!" She shouted in anger but the smile on her face convinced the copy ninja that his cherry blossom was far gone by now.

"Don't mix your drinks. No good can come of it." Kakashi warned and set the glass onto a server's tray that happened to be passing by. Then he turned back to Ino, who was laughing at the whole situation. "Oh and Ino-Chan, please don't complicate my mission." He gave her a curve of his eye.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei." The blonde chuckled, "Let the girl have some fun, for god sake! She needs to relax and just chill out, with you living with her, Kakashi-sensei, I don't she has even a second to catch her breath." She replied seductively with open assumptions.

Sakura's face went red as a tomato. "INO!!! " She screamed as she swung around, her hand slapped the blonde chunnin right across her breast, which made Ino cup them with horror.

"You just slapped my boobs!" She cried with outrage, ignoring the eruption of laughter from the men around her.

"So, what? You slap mine all the time!" Sakura waved it off as nothing. Kakashi on the other hand had to tilt his gaze away from the urge to glance at the subject of the topic. It wasn't because he was a pervert, it was just like all those times when someone says 'don't look' and you want to.

"What breasts, Sakura? How the hell can I slap them when I can't even see them?!" Ino shouted as Sakura's mouth hung open with shock before she set her lips into a deep scowl.

"Then you must be blind too, 'cause they're right here!!!" Much to Kakashi's valiant attempts to keep himself from even a glance, he, at that moment, couldn't help but tilted his eye back just in time to see Sakura's hands gripping her corset and yanking it down to the extent that it barely covered her. Desperately not wanting to be caught, he quickly glanced away to care for this nose bleed while the girls kept at it.

"Ha! Those are just mosquito bites, not boobs!" Ino laughed.

"Must have been a damn big mosquito, then!" Sakura retorted. "Can't say the same for you though! Without your boob job, you'd skill be flat as a board!"

Ino scoffed in outrage. "I…did…NOT have a boob job!"

"Come on Ino, those boobies are more fake then Milli Vanilli's singing career!" Sakura nodded in triumph at her quick insults.

"Oh yeah, well, Fashion tip, Forehead girl! You only need to wear one pair of socks at one time and they belong on your feet not in your bra!" Ino was apparently not willing to attempt defeat yet.

"Only you stick foreign objects in your chest, not me."

"Oh yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Kakashi!" Both girls shouted loud enough to snap Kakashi out of his self induced coma, and he only had a second to compile himself before they would surely scream at him again.

"Don't drag me into this-"

"Shut up!" He silenced rather harshly by both girls. "Tell us who has the better boobs!" He was left stumbling for the best answer for an impossible question before Sakura interrupted them.

"Ino's; who cost her 14,000 dollars and make her look like a whore!" Sakura shouted.

"Or Sakura's; who cost her nothing and make her look like a 12 year old anorexic boy?!"

Ino spat.

"I think the genuine thing always out betters the artificial." A young fairly unknown chunnin spoke up from the crowd behind where Ino sat. Kakashi let out a secret exhale of breathe when he was saved from having to give his input on a subject he would rather not discuss in front of Sakura.

"But if they're scientifically enhanced then there's more to them." Another contradicted.

"But real boobs have that natural bounce to them, you know? Fake ones are so focused on the job that they loose all the fun."

"But you know-"

"Alright, I think that's enough." Kakashi finally decided to step in and end the highly inappropriate, but strangely interesting argument, after it became clear that there would not and could not be a clear winner out of all of this. "Sakura, have a drink of water and eat something. Ino, go….do whatever you do." He shuffled out ordered like he was on a mission.

"You're no fun, Kakashi-sensei…" Ino pouted but after realizing such behavior wasn't going to sway the copy ninja in any way, she stood from the chair and said her goodbyes.

"That Ino-pig is so frustrating sometimes!" Sakura growled as she held out her hand, palm up and Kakashi placed the bottle in her grasp. She ripped the lid off and chugged the liquid, Kakashi was glad wasn't anything alcohol related. "She always has to argue with me, even when she knows she's wrong!"

"Hate to say it Sakura, but you do the same thing." Kakashi replied.

"I do not!" She cried and Kakashi fought the urge to say 'told you so'. "Anyway…What was she wearing?" Kakashi glanced up to Ino's retreating form with a disinterested expression.

"…You really want to know?"

"…Not really" Sakura sighed and slumped in her chair. "I don't care what she says I have nice boobs, I remember."

"I thought I ended this conversation?" He said as he took a larger sip of his drink.

"I thought you liked this kind of conversation?" She asked tilting her pale eyes towards where she though he was.

"I'm not an openly obvious pervert, Sakura. Besides for my books, of course."

"Oh yeah, you're heavily pornographic books that you read around 12 year olds." She muttered. "Honestly, I can't believe you haven't been arrested yet."

Kakashi chuckled, "I suspect Jiraiya is their prime target, and until he's arrested I do believe I'm safe from the lawman."

"At least on that offence." Sakura smiled when Kakashi's arm slumped over the top of her head casually as if she wouldn't notice.

"This may surprise you, but I'm fairly liked around this here village."

"That does surprise me." Sakura laughed.

* * *

Sakura let out a heavy sigh for the fourth time that minute. So much for a fun time, she thought bitterly. Kakashi hadn't given her anything but water for over an hour and it was safe to say her buzz was a thing of the past. Laughter filled her ears but it sure as hell wasn't from her. She and the copy ninja hadn't moved from their chairs for such a long time that her but had fallen asleep and she shifted to try and wake it up.

"I want a drink." She whined. "You can't stop me if I want one. I'm legal, and I can think of plenty of friends who would gladly get me one."

"Alright." He replied. Sakura paused from her whining for him to continue, or for him to physically get her one but neither happened.

"Alright, what? Are you going to-?"

"-Nope."

"Then what are you 'alright about'?" She hissed through clenched teeth, trying to control the rage that built up and the inner thoughts that told her to strike at him anyway she could.

"You finding a friend to buy you a drink." He replied." But it's not going to be me." Sakura vented her frustrations with a growl that started strong then turned back into a hissy fit.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" She cried pissed that he was acting like this, pissed that she was at his mercy and pissed that she couldn't focus her eyes to give him a proper glare. "Fine!" She shouted and pushed herself up. "I'll get one myself." She huffed and slowly began forward; one hand outreached to stop her from running into anything and the other rubbing her sore butt.

It wasn't a full minute before she felt her hand collide with a moving object.

"Sakura?" Came the voice of a male she recognized as Asuma-sensei.

"Sakura, how are you?" This time it was a woman's voice. It had to be Kurenai-sensei.

"Sensei's, I'm fine, how are you? When did you get back?" Sakura let her hand fall from her ass.

"Yesterday, we found out about your situation from Hinata. Sakura, we are so sorry." The genjutsu master's arms wrapped around the pink haired girls shoulders and drew her into a tight embrace.

* * *

Kakashi watched from his seat and narrowed him eye at the scene before him. They had to know by now about Sakura; talkative people are always waiting to pass on news to those who aren't aware of it. Unfortunately, Konoha's full of such talkative people. Kurenai and Asuma probably weren't home for 2 seconds before they were told, Kakashi mused. Too bad; cause they would most certainly have better things to do.

Sakura would have to discuss it again.

"My; my." Kakashi didn't even turn around to acknowledge the presences standing by his chair. "What would Sakura think if she knew you were looking at her like that?"

"Don't you have something better to do?" Kakashi asked. Still remaining completely disinterested with Genma's existence.

"No, not really. I used to pick on Asuma and Kurenai but it's no fun when they admit they like each other." Genma, slide into the chair next to him.

"Can you please put on a shirt, you make me uncomfortable."

"Why are you being such a tight-ass?" Genma chuckled and tilted his knowing gaze at the copy ninja. "Let the girl drink if she wants to. She is legal, after all."

"But she isn't able." Kakashi replied.

"Care to explain?"

Kakashi sent a glance over to the senbon user before letting out a heavy sigh. "She's using it as an escape."

"I see." Genma replied and turned his gaze ahead into the sea of dancing people. What Kakashi said made complete scene to him.

"…I can't let her do that to herself." The copy ninja lifted the glass to his masked lips and took a big drink to finish it off. "But she's damn set on disobeying me, like always. Even if I told her the real reason, she would deny it. Laugh it off. Turn it against me. Her pride wouldn't allow her to be wrong on such a matter as this."

"I agree." The pair watched Sakura order something over the bar then turn to smile at Kurenai. "You think she's in denial?"

Kakashi thought it over for a second. "…No. She's aware. She's too aware. Alcohol has a marvelous way of making a person forget. We're a testimony to the fact that it doesn't, however."

"She'll never be satisfied with that."

"No…No, she wouldn't." Kakashi sighed and took to studying his empty glance. "Looks like Asuma's still alive." Changing the subject; an excellent tool. "He's stronger then I ever imagined." Kakashi's mused.

"Damn right…..One woman!" Genma scoffed with outrage. "I could never even imagine that…"

"We all have to grow up sooner or later." The copy ninja reminded.

"You think I need to settle down?"

"I think you need a physiatrist." Kakashi tilted a glance at the senbon user with an amused smirk.

* * *

Kakashi watched as the scene played out before him; forcing himself to keep in his chair against the urge to stop her. She was now on her four bottle of water; which was suspicious enough, but now she was beginning to loose her balance even when she was standing still. She began to laugh a bit too loud and her confidence shot through the roof. She was drunk again.

Sakura had done it discretely as possible but it was failed attempt to fool hi. He had watched her pour liquor into empty bottles for the past hour or so, with the help of Ino of course. Scary how fast women make up to join forces to plot against men.

Kakashi hadn't moved to stop her this time because he was sure she'd turn on him and make him the joke of the party by telling all his secrets. The only thing worse then Sakura's memory, was a drunk Sakura's memory. Nothing would be off limits if she should choose to fight, and it really wouldn't be much harm for her to learn her lesson by waking up with a hangover; Nature's creative punishment. And if he was watching her, making sure she didn't do anything stupid, and then everything would be super.

His eyes perked when the pink haired women waved at her new friends and began to stumble through the crowd towards…he had no idea. She was headed in the direction of the backdoor, and Kakashi decided to make his move.

"Where are you going?" He spoke into her ear, causing the woman to physically jump in surprise.

"Bathroom." She groaned, holding her stomach in such a way to display discomfort. Kakashi's eyebrow rose confusion, he hadn't heard her reply over the music.

"I didn't catch that." His hand dropped onto her shoulder and titled her body towards him.

When he saw her pale green face he knew immediately what she was groaning about.

"I think I'm going to throw up." She groaned and made a face to subject she was going to yak right there. Kakashi was quick to respond, however, and wrapped his arm around her waist and disappeared with a puff of smoke, reappearing outside in the alleyway.

"Kakashi…" She groaned and Kakashi quickly directed her towards some bushed and not a second after he managed to pull all of her hair out of her face, she emptied all of the contents of her stomach into the plants.

"…Shit…" Kakashi sighed and rested a heavy palm on her back, feeling it constrict as she once again started to heave. "I told you mixing drinks would do this."

"…I'm sorry…" She croaked out.

"It's alright." Kakashi whispered and began to draw circles around her shoulder blade. "…Sakura…You don't have to fine with this yet." His comforting circle drew a close as she straightened up and whipped her mouth. "You lost your sight not even a month ago…You don't have to pretend everything's fine yet, but I can assure you… your sight can't be found at the bottom of a glass."

"…When, did you become so serious Kakashi?" Sakura replied while stumbling to the side a little before Kakashi's arms steadied her. "I can handle myself!" She shouted and shrugged his hands from her shoulders, resulting in her toppling over as soon as she couldn't steady herself.

"You're not very convincing." Kakashi sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Yes, yes I am!" She stuttered and rose onto her wobbly legs, stumbling backwards for a few steps before finally being able to stand properly. "And, and I'll prove it!" She pointed her finger towards where she guessed he was. "I'll become a Jounin!"

Kakashi, who had absolutely no reason to take her seriously, just stared at her with a blank expression. "You've had far too many; I'm taking you home." He approached her but she screamed, no, and scrambled away. "Sakura." He warned

"No, I'm not going to let this beat me." She was referring to her eyes. "I…have been a drop out, all my life!" She slurred her voice, and Kakashi was forced to ignore everything she said and pass it off as the words of a drunk. "I was…I was finally respected as a ninja; you know that! But now…now I'm just supposed to…give up?!" She tossed her arm around with an uncoordinated serious of movements. "Bullshit! My sight doesn't matter, anymore!" She inhaled deep breathes.

"Sakura…" Kakashi's hand made contact with her arm but she snapped it away.

"Not when I've worked so fucking hard to be strong!"

"You're drunk; we'll talk about this in the morning." Kakashi reasoned.

"Don't do that. Don't make it sound like I'm crazy, 'cause I'm not crazy!" Sakura shrieked giving a firm shake of her head. "I'm not!"

"I didn't say you were crazy, I said you were drunk." Kakashi watched as Sakura's anger fell, and she drooped her shoulders in disappointment, her lip trembling as if she was ready to cry at any moment. IF he didn't knew that her emotions were so piratical now, he would have felt bad for making her feeling like this. But he knew it was the alcohol talking and that made him want to get her home even more.

"You don't think I can do this, do you?" She whispered, and fell onto the floor with an ungracefully slump. She let her legs stretch out before her and let he shoulder slump forward as if she didn't care for anything.

"….You'll think more clearly in the morning." Kakashi approached her and she was finally able to let him gather her limp body in his arms. She had passed out before he had a chance to reply, leaving her head to roll casually against her chest.

* * *

* * *


	8. Recommendations

Kakashi had been up for 3 hours before Sakura finally rounded out of bed. It was almost noon, by that time. Morning birds had stopped their chirping and the dew on the grass and trees had vanished. He hadn't slept much that night; the thoughts were too loud to ignore. He had spent the majority of the night lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling and thinking of the pink haired woman who was snoring loudly in the other room. No, the snoring hadn't kept him up, although it was undoubtedly the most vaguer noise that he'd heard in a long time.

He now sat on that same couch, book in hand, listening, rather then reading, to the shuffling in the other room. Sakura was always a fun drunk and most things she said while intoxicated were passed off as the musing of a drunk. Kakashi had always rather enjoyed watching her make a fool out of herself; but she was different yesterday. She spoke of things that he never even thought had crossed her mind before. Mainly she ranted about the Jounin exam and about how she was going to take it and pass. Try as he might he couldn't categorize what she said as the musing of a drunk. It seemed like she had taken the opposite approach and drank that booze to gain the confidence to express it in words. He knew she was serious; even though he didn't let her know that he knew.

She was getting dressed now; hence all the thumping and shuffling. It was a good idea. Kakashi couldn't bring himself to strip her out of that outfit and because of that she was still dressed in that Halloween costume; something that wasn't appropriate for daytime.

When she finally emerged from the bedroom, she made her way down the hallway towards the room where he sat.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, glancing up from his book. She indeed had changed into a slumpy pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt that was much larger then her. Her hair was a mess that she had tried to tame but was unsuccessful, and her makeup had run down her cheek. All in all she was a dictionary definition of a mess.

"Going out." She gave a curt reply and searched for her shoes as Kakashi rose from his seat and strolled over to her.

"Where?" He pressed, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

"Just out…"Sakura gave a frustration sigh.

"You're angry with me." Kakashi stated rather then asked resulting in a harsh scoff from the woman before him.

"Oh my, Kakashi I can see now why you're ninja talents are so admirable!" Kakashi didn't completely ignore her comment but chose not to acknowledge it.

"Why are you angry?"

"Don't you dare act as if you don't know-" Sakura begun to warn the silver haired man but she was interrupted upon his changing of the subject.

"-You have makeup all down your-" When his fingers graced her skin to help remove the unsightly mess on her face, she roughly jerked her head away from anywhere near his hand. Kakashi, remaining unfazed, calmly let his hand drop to his side. "I can't let you go alone, Sakura." He sighed.

"…Don't…" She snapped. "Don't you follow me." She ordered with a deep frown that remained as she slide on her shoes and disappeared through the door. Kakashi watched as the door shut with more force then needed and slouched deeply at the complications Sakura had brought to his mission.

Sakura's hand grabbed the railing she knew was right next to the staircase, and stepped carefully as not to fall, until she reached the pavement below.

'How dare he act as if nothing was wrong?!' Sakura fumed inside her head and she inhaled deep cleansing breathes to slow her heartbeat and stop her from turning right back around to kill that man. 'He can be so insufferable sometimes! I can't believe I've hanged around him for this long!'

He had laughed at her. Last night she had told him her ambition and he had full out tossed it back in her face. He had actually told her that she wasn't 'thinking clearly', that this was just the drinks talking. But she knew that it wasn't. Alcohol doesn't make one fantasize about something like that, instead, it makes you just say what's on your mind, no holding back. Sober people always think that, that when one is drunk they are suddenly critically insane but it's the opposite! Alcohol always you to be free from restrictions.

She was talking to herself again. She's talking about NOT being insane, but if she should pass someone while she's mumbling to herself then there goes her argument.

But she was serious. She was going to taking the exams and she was going to pass. With or without the copy ninja.

She knew she needed three people to recommend her. That wasn't all though. The ninja's who recommend her must be Jounin; and they must have been at that level of Shinobi for more then 1 year. That left out Ino. She's still a chunnin and has said on various occasions that she had no plans to become a Jounin. That also left out Iruka sensei; who had remained a chunnin as well.

Sakura then began to think about all the Jounin she knew who could possibly recommend her. Immediately she thought of Kakashi, but furiously pushed him aside in anger. Then she thought of Naruto. Yes, he would defiantly agree with what she asked. Sasuke; no he was away from the village on a mission and she knew she needed these names by the end of this week. Beside; even if he was present, he couldn't help her because he just got his Jounin level a year ago; disqualifying him. Then there was Shikamaru; a good friend of Ino's and a fair acquaintance with herself. He could be a possible option; but then there would only be two. She would still need another one. Lee! He would surely do it!

She smiled and headed towards the noise of the main road in the village; where Lee lived.

After asking for directions she felt the engraving of the number 30 beneath her fingertips on the door. She fisted her hand and gave a series of knocks.

Then another.

Sakura let out a disappointed sigh at his absence as she began to wonder why she had ever thought Lee would be at home. The boy never stood still for a second! But she could find his door without much difficulty; finding him in the vast area of Konoha's was a much different matter. Knowing him, he could be anywhere, but she figured she try her luck at the training grounds.

Proceeding down the most populated road in the village, she hoped to find another possible sponsor on the way to Lee, but it didn't work out like that.

Shortly after leaving Lee's home she ran into Kiba and Akamaro.

"Sakura? What are you doing around here without Kakashi? I thought he was watching over you now that you lost your…your"- Kiba was apparently struggling to finish his sentence, and even though Sakura found nothing awfully hard about it, she interrupted him.

"Kakashi's not here because he doesn't need to be." She stated firmly, hearing Akamaro bark in response; not startling her one bit. She really did love that wolf.

"Akamaro's right, what if you fall or get lost?!" Kiba shouted as if volume would make his words be in more consideration; but it only made Sakura realize that he wasn't going to recommend her even if she asked.

"I've got to go; I talk to you later." Sakura mumbled and slowly made her way around him, careful not to bump into him.

Well, she officially crossed Kiba off her list. And upon remember Hinata's departure on a mission with Neji and Tenten unable to meet the requirements, she realized how short her list was getting. Almost all of the Jounin her age were crossed out, so she was soon going to have to start asking Teachers. Something she didn't want to do because of their connections to Kakashi. They obviously all respected him as a ninja and if he doesn't believe she can become a Jounin then she doubted that any of them might disagree. Then again, he did go against them when he chose to enter team 7 into the chunnin exam; maybe they would disagree with him on this as well.

She asked a passing civilian to direct her towards the Jounin lounge and as she walked through the door, the murmurs she heard coming down the hall silenced immediately. Feeling extremely awkward, she decided to hurry things along.

"Excuse me is Kurenai-Sensei here?" She asked loud enough to hear an echo in the room.

"Yes, I'm here." Came a woman's voice from somewhere in the darkness. Sakura swallowed her nerves.

"May I have a word with you?"

"Of course." Sakura felt a hand touch her shoulder and instantly felt a weight being lifted from her body as she willingly left the doorway of the lounge with the genjutsu user. "What can I help you with?" Kurenai's hand left her shoulder and Sakura paused.

"The Jounin exams are coming up; as you know…" Sakura began timidly. She hated asking people for things. But her mood changed when Kurenai's hand returned to her shoulder but with it brought an odd emotion.

"Sakura…You're not ready for it." Sakura felt her blood begin to pump wildly through her veins and it was everything she could do just to keep her cool.

"The exam isn't for 5 months; I'll train my ass off to be ready for then." Sakura reasoned.

"I have no doubt that you WILL be ready…next year. I'll be happy to recommend you after you've come to terms with you're…disability." Sakura couldn't help herself and smirk played on her lips.

"Thank you, Kurenai-Sensei," Everywhere dripped with venom and she knew Kurenai couldn't mistake it for anything else. "...for your vote of confidence." It was then that Sakura stepped out of reach and felt that hand of pity fall from her body.

"I'm sorry Sakura-" Kurenai's apology fell on deaf ears as Sakura quickly walked out of listening distance.

She forced herself from crying in frustration as she headed down the street. Kurenai had said no, of course. Why wouldn't she? She didn't understand Sakura, she wasn't her teacher; they hadn't been on any mission together, so Kurenai didn't know the _Shinobi _Sakura. Sure she knew the _Sakura_ Sakura; the ex-student of Hatake Kakashi; teammate of Fox demon and Uchiha survivor; and apprentice of the Hokage. Of course she wouldn't understand.

And because Kurenai didn't get it there was no way in hell that Asuma would get it. Anko; she didn't know well enough to ask any favors and, in truth, Sakura had always found the woman rude and unlikable. Ibiki; he was nice enough when he wasn't the 'torture expert' but, again, the man just didn't sit well with Sakura. Ebisu-Sensei? Not eligible. Maybe Gai would agree; that is if she could work up the courage to get near him.

With no other option then to head to where Lee could be, the pink haired woman did just that. She walked with faith in the way she was going was the way she should be going and her luck agreed with her for once and she soon felt the grass against her toes and heard the wind rustle all the many, many leaves.

A smile broke out on her lips when she heard the distanced sound of taijutsu fighting and the assorted grunts and other odd noises that went along with it. She started off towards it and felt her smile widen she heard Naruto's voice shout across the entire field. She had come in search of Lee, but Naruto was certainly a welcomed surprise.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out and heard the fighting come to an end.

"Sakura-Chan?" She laughed when he called back.

"What are you doing here, Sakura-san?" Lee's voice shouted next and soon the sound of approaching footsteps brought the voices closer and closer.

"Lee, Naruto; I have something extremely important to ask of both of you." Sakura urged.

"What is it, Sakura-Chan?" Naruto's voice had a tone of worry to it so she decided to ask him quick before he would fly off somewhere to defend her honor.

"I want to take the Jounin exams. And I came here to ask for a recommendation from both of you." Sakura asked.

"Of course, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto immediately shouted without a seconds' hesitation with the enthusiasm expected from the orange haired boy.

"I would be glad to Sakura-san." Lee chimed in a second afterwards. Sakura's heart swelled with happiness and she reached out to touch both of them before she wrapped her arms around their necks and embraced them with all she had.

"Thank you so much." She whispered and felt both of the boys embrace her back also feeling a heated blush of both of their cheeks.

She had two recommendations. But the number of rejections severely outweighed them. It was almost 5:00 in the afternoon and after Lee and Naruto returned to training, she was once again alone to wander the streets. She found a bench and occupied it for almost 2 hours just thinking over her situation.

She thought about Kurenai-sensei and how she was so bitter towards the genjutsu user at that moment.

She thought about what it would feel like to take the exam and fail.

She thought about how it would feel to get two recommendations and fall short only one.

She thought of the word 'disability'; a word Kurenai had user to describe her.

She thought about how much hers and Kakashi would be affected now.

…She thought about how much she didn't want to think.

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura's blank eyes lifted with her head when a voice spoke her name. It held such authority and presence that she knew the man had to be from Anbu. "You are to follow me to the Hokage-Sama's office, immediately." Tsunade wanted to see her? Kakashi must have snitched her out that morning. What a little snake!

"What for?" She asked calmly keeping her composure before the second highest level ninja in the village; a ninja who accomplish s-class missions like it was d-rank. The ninja who had been trained for assassinations and posses the emotionless character to carry it out no matter the cost.

"Comply with no questions asked, Haruno." The Anbu demanded in a dark tone that expressed a mood brought on by a not so happy day. He sounded impatient; so Sakura wisely agreed with no further objections and rose from her chair.

"Follow the clicks." He replied and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth; repeating the sound over and over as he began to walk away.

"I'm not a fucking dog." Sakura hissed, but after hearing no reply and the clicking sound growing fainter, she swallowed her pride and followed him. He lead her through the streets of Konoha; the streets of her home, up the stairs of the Hokage tower and through the hallways towards her office. Sakura knew that the Anbu must have found it a great inconvenience to walk all the way instead of traveling on the rooftops, but in truth, she didn't give a shit.

She heard the clicking stop and paused her movements. They must have arrived, because the silence was interrupted by a single knock. The woman she called Hokage and Sensei ordered them to enter; which only she did. Once inside the room the smelt of the Hokage's perfume; Sakura heard the door shut behind her, sealing her inside.

"You wanted to speak with me, Sensei?" Sakura called out in the darkness; her voice echoing off the walls and returning right back to her ears.

"Sakura, have a seat." She heard the woman reply, and after a deep inhale of breath, she stepped into the office, slowly and careful not to run into anything. Once her finger tips grazed the smooth surface of the chairs arm, she slid into the seat and patiently waited for her sensei to say something.

Sakura's blank eyes stared straight forward, but her fingers began to play nervously with the hem of her t-shirt.

"…You look like shit." Tsunade commented. Sakura remained unfazed; even as she replied with a sarcastic 'thank you'. "…Let me get straight to the point, Sakura…" The woman sighed. "Some rather surprising rumors have surfaced that you are asking for recommendations for the up coming Jounin exams that Konoha is hosting."

Sakura knew that all this was about that. "Yes, Hokage-Sama."

"So they are true?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes." Sakura replied with a fake confidence that she hoped would win her out of this mess. "Everything Kakashi has told is true-"

"Kakashi?"

"Yes, I told him last night of my intensions and he had the same reaction as you had. But I assure you that I will not let anyone or anything stop me from doing this." Sakura stated with a firm hand; as if she had any sort of authority in this room.

"I haven't talked to Kakashi since you lost your sight. In fact I just called him and he's on the way now."

Sakura blinked. "Why?"

"I'm going to tell him the same thing I'm going to tell you now." She noticed the complete seriousness in the tone of her sake drinking sensei, and knew that something bad was going to happen. She got the same tone all those times when they were training and Sakura always ended up with bruises and smashed ego. "You will not be taking this exam this year." Sakura's mouth shot open to object but she was immediately silenced. "You will stay quiet and listen to me, Haruno Sakura. You are not in your right state of mind right now. These last couple of months have been hard and you are confused. You want to take this exam to prove something that is unnecessary. You are strong, Sakura, you are. You're potential has far excided all expectations so far, but you aren't ready for this yet. Next year; perhaps, when you've had time to think about this-"

"If I may interrupt, Hokage-Sama;" Sakura spoke up. "I have thought this over till my head hurt. I want this and I am capable of getting-" Sakura was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in." Tsunade called, and Sakura heard the door creak open. She knew it was Kakashi by the silence that followed him, and that fowl air that floated between them since that morning.

"You called, Hokage-Sama?" True enough, his deep voice echoed through the room and against the walls but it echoed through Sakura's body most of all. She shivered externally and sank lower in her seat. She hated being uncomfortable around him. It shouldn't be that way. He was her friend, her good friend.

"Sit, Kakashi." It was a moment before the copy ninja replied.

"I'd rather stand; if that's alright." Sakura's heart sank. He was mad at her; no, he wasn't mad. It was much worse. He was disappointed with her. That was much worse.

"Suit yourself. I'm sure you are aware of why I called you here. And why Sakura is here as well?" Tsunade sighed.

"I am, yes."

"You know what I'm going to say about this, don't you?"

"I have a rough idea"

"I am forbidding this."

"No!" Sakura snapped and shot up out of her seat and slammed her palms down on the desk; the adrenalin making her do things that she would never think to do. Like disobey her Hokage. "Listen to what I'm telling you! Please!"

"Sit down, Sakura!" Tsunade's booming voice made the pink haired girl start and inhale deep breaths in an attempt to slow her heart rate.

"No, I will not sit down until you listen. I will train, I will train so hard! You watch, and see what I can do!"

"I am the Hokage of this village and you will do as I SAY!!" Tsunade shouted causing Sakura the physically stumble back until she once again sank into her seat, utter defeat bringing upon deep depression. "I am not going to allow-"

"I'll train her."

Sakura's head turned sharply back at the man who had been forgotten in the room, Tsuande's voice cut off and both women were officially left stunned by his comment.

Sakura let her wide mouth close and she tilted back forward in her chair, confused by his bold offer.

"And I'll act as a recommendation her as well. The exams are in 5 months, I believe." Kakashi replied before pausing in thought, which he expressed out loud. "I suppose I could get her ready for then." That was it; she had three recommendations and was eligible for the exam.

"…Sakura, please wait outside." Tsunade sighed after a brief interval of time. Sakura, who was still extremely surprised and confused by Kakashi's behavior, rose from her seat like a ghost and slowly made her way past the man who smelt like her shampoo and out of the office; leaving the two to talk.

------------------------------------------

Once the door shut, Tsunade spoke up.

"Kakashi, do you know you're doing?" The Hokage pressed carefully, her hazel eyes scanning his masked face for any clue as to what was going on inside that head of his.

"I'm aware, yes." He replied from his slouched position half way from the door and her desk.

"Then you know I must object. Sakura's not ready, she's not capable-"

"Forgive me, Hokage-Sama," Kakashi intervened before Tsunade could repeat herself, with a cool nature and a lazy exterior. "But, don't we need to have a little faith in her?" His eye scanned the face of the woman before him, her hazel eyes showed so much different emotions ranging from fear to confusion and hopefulness. "You, yourself took her as an apprentice. You must have sent the same drive I do."

"Yes, but things are different now. She can no longer use her eyes."

"There are other ways to see, you know that." Kakashi opposed with a sigh, knowing that the Hokage was talking bullshit. "But it seems to me like you're fishing for a reason not to let her do this." That was when he was on the receiving end of a harsh glare. Not good when the woman can crush your bones with a gentle flick of her finger.

"Don't go there, Hatake." She warned. "I told you to watch over her, not to put insane thoughts into her head!"

"They're not insane, they're Sakura's. She's had them for years. She had her mind made up a long time ago; she's serious about it. Besides, if she's still unfit to take the exam after 5 months of my training, I'll make sure she drops out before the match. No harm done." Kakashi shrugged.

He saw Tsunade fall into deep thought and emerge with a stern expression.

"Fine; But you will report to me every day on her progress, no exceptions. And if I see that there is no progress in her training, I will end it without any objections or arguments. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Kakashi confirmed.

"Fine…You may go." Tsunade gave his dismissal with a casual wave of her wrist at which time Kakashi turned and left the office.

Sakura heard the door open and shot off the wall she had been leaning on.

"What happened?" She asked in a rush, not caring about the tension that was once stringed between them. The door clicked shut before she received and answer.

"Nothing too important." Kakashi grinned and approached where she stood seeing the desperation in her face and the way she kept her hands fisted by her side to keep them from fidgeting with anything.

"..Why?" Sakura whispered suddenly, titling her blank pale eyes downward, still shy to meet his gaze even in blindness.

The copy ninja sighed and lifted his head before letting it flop on her head. "Sometimes it takes more strength to believe in someone then to dismiss them so easily." He quoted and gently rubbed his thumb through her messy pink locks. "Why didn't you come to me?" He asked, letting his hand drop from her.

"Because I knew you'd say no." Sakura whispered. "So I didn't even bother."

"But you didn't even ask." Kakashi with a gentle smile that she couldn't see.

"Because I knew you'd say no!" Sakura repeated with more force unaware of the joke he was playing on her expense. "You made it clear that you thought the idea was ludicrous, yesterday." Her voice fell back into a mumble.

"You were drunk, anyone would have thought that." Kakashi reasoned. "But, it doesn't matter anymore, what's done is done. I'm your revived sensei, Sakura-_Chan_." He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets to pull out his book.

"…Does this mean I have to call you sensei again?" Sakura's face twisted with distaste.

"Yup." Kakashi replied, flipping through his pages to find where he left off.

"Well, _sensei,_ I'm awaiting your further orders." Sakura made a mock salute. "Tsunade trained me good before I lost me sight, so it'll be like riding a bike!"

Yes, well, you should forget about all that." Kakashi replied, making Sakura paused with confusion, letting her arm drop.

"Why?"

"Because, my dear Sakura-Chan," Kakashi's voice turned serious but he tilted his grinning face back to judge Sakura's reaction. ", I'm going to teach you everything you 'ready' need to know."


	9. Learning to Listen

Kakashi was woken from his sleep when he felt a presence stirring beside him. Cracking his cautious eye open, and blinking away the sleep that clouded his vision, he shifted his aching limps out on the small Hitler couch he now called his bed.

"Sakura?" He groaned; grumpy after yet another restless sleep. Suddenly he felt a heavy body jump over onto his stomach, causing him to gasp in surprised and intake a sharp gust of air when the wind was knocked out of him. His raven eye shot open and saw a pink haired devil straddling his abdomen, smiling brilliantly as if to rub the fact that she slept soundly into his face.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" She laughed,; her voice sending sharp spikes of pain through his temples and making him groan with exhaustion and fall limp on the couch again.

"…What the hell are you doing?" He slung his head over his face and buried his eyes into the crock of his elbow, as Sakura's hands rested on his chest for leverage.

"What the hell are you doing?" She counted with a playful tone that only served to get on Kakashi's nerves. "It's almost 7:30, and the days'a'wasting! So let's get going!" She whined and bucked her hips up and down against his, much like the way an impatient child would. But Kakashi knew others; she being a drop dead gorgeous 23 year old woman, and, at that moment, wearing fishnet legging and a short/shirk combination; she was anything but a child. If he wasn't so tired, he would have had to add another pervert thought to the memory books.

"..Go where?" Kakashi groaned, and lifted the other arm to fall against the one already over his eyes. It didn't remain there long as Sakura's hand quickly took hold of both his wrist and gently pried them from his eyes; making his raven gaze fall upon a disappointed face.

"You forgot?" She whispered, in a strange change of attitude. Kakashi blinked casually and let out a deep sigh.

"No, but when can you ever recall me being on time for my appointments?" Sakura's face lit up again and she let his wrists fall from her hold; letting her hands once again fall onto his chest.

"You can't not _not_ be on time when you live with the person who's not _not_ waiting for you." Sakura frowned as if she didn't understand what she said as much as him.

"You make my head hurt." Kakashi groaned and winced when she felt her finger flicked his chin; obviously not forgetting her brute strength.

"Yeah, well, by the end of today, you're going to hurt much more! 'Cause I'm going to kick your ass." Sakura smiled a toothy smile and leaned forward to rest her head in the palm of her hand and her elbow into his ribs.

"If that had any remote chance of happening, you wouldn't need me as your teacher." Kakashi retorted and pushed her off him as her swung his legs over the edge of the couch and sat up. "This couch is the most uncomfortable piece of-"

"Hey, this was my parents couch!" Sakura gently seated herself down on the coffee table she had stationed before the couch. "You should feel honored to sleep on it."

"Yeah," Kakashi yawned and gave a long extended stretch. "Tell that to my ass; legs and neck."

"So come on! I want to get an early start." Sakura clapped in motivation.

"Can I at least have a shower first?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, a slouched his elbows onto his knees.

"Nope; no time!" Sakura stated. "Besides, you're just going to get all sweaty anyway."

* * *

It was a misty morning. He could hardly see three feet in front of him, and so far he hadn't been privileged to see one other person; besides for Sakura; who was beaming like a Christmas tree one day before the big day. She had hooked her arm around his so she wouldn't wonder off unintentionally, and her occasional shivers had become to make her rethink her choice of outfit. But as soon as she gets moving, all will be forgotten.

"So, who sponsored you, next to me?" Kakashi inquired.

"Lee and Naruto." Sakura replied. That came as no surprise.

"I heard you asked Kurenai and she said no." He saw her blank eyes twitch with unresolved bitterness. That came as no surprise, either. "She had her reasons, Sakura, so you can be too hard on her. Besides, she doesn't know your capabilities as much as Naruto, Lee or myself."

"I know. I was just frustrated." Sakura sighed. "She was the only Jounin I could think of, next to you, that I thought would even consider the idea."

Kakashi gave a response half way between a grunt and mumble; and they walked in silence until they stepped foot on the grassy plains of the training grounds of Team 7.

The three posts that were a prominent memory in his mind emerged through the fog once Kakashi was in distance. Memories flooded back from his own training days through the time he took on Sakura and Naruto alone. It seemed they always returned to this place.

"Alright." Kakashi sighed and let Sakura's hold on his arm falter. "Shall we begin?"

He strolled forward; placing an adequate distance before the girl and himself. He reached into his pouch and pulled out his book, skipping through the pages to where he left off.

Sakura nodded with enthusiasm, reaching blindly behind her into her pouch to pull out her gloves.

That was her chance to prove something of herself.

She slid the gloves over her bare hands, pulling them back until she fit snug into her fingers. She rolled her shoulders and cracked her bones until she set into position. She slowed her breathing and concentrated on listening to his movements.

"Instead of attacking," Kakashi spoke up. "Perhaps you should concentrate on defending?" He suggested.

"I know." Sakura growled and forced herself to focus again, but the time to do wasn't available as she soon felt herself falling backwards when a hand cupped her forehead and gave a firm shove. She landed on her ass with a grunt.

"What that hell?" Sakura cried; shouting at the darkness.

"You weren't defending, Sakura." Kakashi reasoned, giving a casual flip of the page when he had read everything on it. "You weren't focused."

"Well, I'm sorry, but it was the first move, I wasn't completely prepared-"

"No excuses." Kakashi stated. "A ninja must always be on guard, never once should they let their guard down." Sakura chuckled and pushed herself off the floor.

"Are you selling me proverbs?" She teased, only to have a finger give a less then gentle flick to her nose. She winced and covered it from further damage; before fisting her gloved hand and crying out as she slammed it into the floor in front of her. She heard the ground crack and split and smelt the dust that rose into her nose and tickling her.

"That was rather pointless." Kakashi's judgmental statement echoed into her ears as he stood, unknown to her, on the branch right above her head. "You weren't even close to hitting me and now the terrain's all uneven. Not a good thing for a blind woman." Kakashi saw Sakura's ears perk up and she turned on her heels and ran forward blindly to slam her fist into the trunk. Well, not the complete trunk. She only managed to clip the side but the power behind it gave the ability to put a hole large enough so the tree fell down.

Kakashi had leapt off the danger without a scratch and landing effortlessly behind her. He took notice of the heavy breathes she drew and knew she was tried already.

"Only two strikes, Sakura, and you're already tried?" Kakashi asked. "Well, I suppose it makes sense that such a powerful attack would use up so much chakra."

Sakura huffed and quickly put her hands together and morphed then into a series of seals, before proclaiming a jutsu. Immediately, the boulders created by Sakura's strike drew up before her into a massive wave of ground that was sent flooding over to Kakashi upon her command.

Well, that's quite different, He thought as he leapt back wards repeatedly to avoid each wave. He then leapt over to stand of the other side of the attack and shot forward towards her.

Sakura's heart beat wildly in her chest, but she heard it. If she strained her ears she could actually hear his approaching footsteps! She couldn't even hear them when she had her sight. They were approaching fast; insanely fast. That by the time she realized it she, didn't have time to manage a feasible defense, as Kakashi ducked around behind her and gave a kick to her ass. She gasped as she stumbled forward, loosing her balance and falling headfirst to the ground.

"That was pathetic." Kakashi commented, as the growling Sakura pushed herself up.

"You son of a bitch." She hissed as she felt the cuts of her knees and palms.

"We've sure got our work cut out for us, Hubba Bubba." He sighed. "You're taijutsu skills are practically none existent, you're Ninjutsu is fair; at best, your tactics need a lot of work and your stamina, hasn't much improved since you were a genin."

"Oh," Sakura scoffed. "Don't hold back, tell me what you really feel."

"But, you were using common sense in that you were beginning to listen, rather then try to see. And if you're other areas of Shinobi warfare were in tact you probably could have stopped my attacks. But, like I said, you're lacking in every single department."

"So what should I do, oh all-powerful?" Sakura replied, every word dripping with sarcasm.

"Just, do everything I say. Easy as that." His eye curved into a smile at her expense. "Because, my dear Sakura, I'm going to teach you to fight better then when you had your sight."

"Oh yeah; how?" She didn't sound to convinced, Kakashi noticed.

"Well, I suppose we'll begin at the start." He thought aloud.

"Seems logical," She retorted.

"So, find the three stumps Naruto was tied to as a child and practice you're aiming by throwing kunai until you can hit each target 20 times in a row. Then, we can practice on a moving target." Kakashi replied and strolled over to a nearby tree and slouched down at the base, sighing with relaxation while Sakura fumbled around the yard in search of her target; muttered obscenities all the way.

After ten minutes, Sakura grew tired of looking like a complete idiot and froze in the middle of the field. Kakashi peaked up over the rim of his book to see what she was doing. He watched as she pulled out several Kunai, inhaled a deep breath and tossed one in a random direction. It went flying to the east, through a pile of bushes, and as Sakura listened intently, she realized it hadn't hit the thing she hoped it would. So she tilted only slightly and tossed another one. It hadn't hit the stump either. So she tossed another one and it flew directly for Kakashi's head, and he titled it away so it nailed the wood right next to his neck. Sakura heard the sound of it hitting wood and drew back another one, intent to fire again.

"Wrong tree." Kakashi informed, reaching up to yank out the weapon, just as another came rocketing straight for his groan area. Kakashi quickly spread his thighs and the kunai hit the ground right in-between. He glanced up so see Sakura grinning rather devilishly.

"No, I think I'm aiming correctly."

* * *

..Ten

Eleven

..Twelve

…Thirteen

…_Miss._

..One

Two

Three

….Four

..Five

.Six

…_Miss._

She was so angry, Kakashi mused. He could practically see the steam boiling out of her ears even from where he sat. And most of it was directed at him, but he knew she was frustrated at herself a lot as well. She could probably hit the target no problem is she could just relax; listen to the sound; hit the same spot where she hit before. But, this was Sakura.

She'd been going at it for 20 minutes and the highest number of hits in a row she's achieved so far was fourteen. She had been so enthusiastic that morning to get training; he had thought Naruto had dressed in fishnets and slapped on a pink wig. But now, her arm had gotten sluggish, her form; what was left of it, was bad to say the least. Her heart wasn't in it now that she'd seen how hard it was going to be.

Sighing, he tucked his book away and pushed himself off the ground by the base of the tree.

"You're not listening, Sakura." Kakashi chanted, approaching the blind woman.

"Not listening to what?" She snapped; another bust of energy taking her over and she threw the kunai so hard that it cut directly through the bulk of the stump.

"You're not using your lack of sight to your advantage." Kakashi replied, folding his hands behind his head. "Blindness doesn't have to be a weakness if you don't want it to be; in fact, it could be a gift."

Sakura paused and let her body slouch towards his. "Explain." She ordered.

Kakashi fisted his hand and gently coughed into it before he began. "Well, if you're blind, then you have one less sense to complicate things; an example." He replied before Sakura could retort. "Picture yourself walking into the stadium to take your chunnin exam; you're fighting Ino again. All your senses are working at once. You see her standing before you, glaring at you. She's serious about winning, almost as much as you are. You see a childhood friend. Next, you hear Naruto's voice cheering you on from the higher level. You hear a distraction. Next, you smell the blood that spilt from the matches before yours. You smell the fear that that could soon be you're blood. You taste it in the air and feel your hands start to shake. Imagine eliminating one of them."

Sakura didn't reply, instead she set her brow into a frown as she thought over what he had said.

"It's quite difficult to focus on just one and block out the other four. You don't have that problem; you can just let your eyes settle, put them aside and focus on what you hear; feel, smell and taste."

"So, what do you suggest I do?" Sakura whispered.

"Listen." Kakashi shrugged at her expense. "Block out everything else and just listen." He walked closer to her and leaned his mouth close to her ear so he could whisper and she would still hear. He leaned a hand on her shoulder, gently, as if she was made of glass.

Sakura began to blush at first, and shiver at the breaths of air that exhaled from his mouth and ran across her skin and down her neck. But soon, she forgot all that. He was trying to help, trying to bring everything down to a simple concept. Make her focus. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to calm into a state of focus, as she heard his low voice whisper. "..You can no longer use your eyes to see…but it only leaves your other senses to heighten. Listen to my voice; let it paint you a picture. Let it be your eyes..."

Sakura listened with everything she had, as he continued. "Just 3 meters left of where you're standing now is the first post in the series of three. On the floor all around, are your kunai."

Sakura gasped as she heard metal against metal just before her; but then she heard another loud clinking sound, but immediately noticed the change in volume. The second was further away from her then the first. Soon a third clinking sound sounding in her ears and she realized it was Kakashi. He was throwing kunai to help guild her towards her destination. Soon there was no clinking sound; it had instead been replaced with a thumping sound. He had hit the target. She immediately plucked her own kunai from her pouch and tossed it towards the sound of the thump. She was rewarded with a clinking sound and knew she had hit his kunai that was lodged in the trunk. She quickly reached for another and tossed it again. It hit metal once more. She didn't even feel, Kakashi slowly retreat away from her as she threw kunai after kunai with a passion that she lacked up until then,

.Sixteen

.Seventeen

.eighteen

.nineteen

.Twenty

"I did it!" She laughed, clapping her hands together with happiness. "In your face; Kurenai-Sensei!!" She gave a triumphant punch to the air, in a move similar to Gai and Lee's.

"Good, now we sit." Kakashi sighed; effectively bring down the high energy mood, as he strolled towards the tree that had the nicest shaded area. Sakura's celebration was cut short as she titled her head towards his retreating footsteps.

"Why? I'm just getting started!" Sakura laughed.

"Tsunade had to mediate before, right?" He replied as he sank to the ground with a grunt that would be expected in a man of fifty, but Kakashi had always insisted playing up to his gray hair.

"Yes, but-"

She was interrupted when he let out an exaggerated yawn. "Practice you're listening and do as I say." He ordered and let his hands fold against the back of his head again. Shikamaru has the right idea; sleeping all day.

Sakura growled in defeat. "Asshole." She muttered and strolled up towards him, turning her destination a little to the left so she could sit up against the trunk of the tree beside his tree.

She crossed her legs and let her arms become loose like she had no control over them. Any other day, she would have been glad to spend the day sitting against a tree in a quiet field-

Wait. Maybe it wasn't really all that quiet. Birds of all sorts were constantly chirping so many songs that it felt like she was listening to 40 different songs at once. Some were so close that she became conscious of the fact that they could crap on her head, while others sounded like they were miles away. If she strained her hearing even more she could hear that flapping of many wings and the rustling of leaves and branches that were disturbed by their movements.

She smiled a little when she heard paper; Kakashi's thumb grazing the page of his book, a pause, he was waiting for his eye to scan the words before he turned for the next page.

She breathed a mixture of scents every breath; the scents of the forests, the scent of her feet; she inhaled again and focused on a male scent; Kakashi's scent. She was surprised, to not receive the scent of pines and laundry soap; the typical of the copy ninja. But instead she was caught off guard by a hint of cologne.

_Kakashi didn't where cologne! Wait; it's faded. He hadn't applied it recently, but the smell remained. Of course,_ she realized, _it was from Genma's Halloween party!_ But she hadn't noticed the cologne that night; and it made her sad because he smelt so good right now. He hadn't showered, she noted, or else it would have faded. _Ewww…he hadn't showered. _

Suddenly, her silent pleasure was viscously ripped from her when a harsh rustle in the leaves beside her. She was forced to listen as, what she could only guess was a chipmunk of some sort, played in the fallen leaves in search of something. Sakura felt her eye begin to twitch as the chipmunks' business continued rustling even after a good while. He obviously wasn't going to find what he was after and the constant sniffing began to drive her crazy until, finally she reached her breaking point.

"God damn chipmunk!" She screamed out her frustrations and scrambled to her feet, successfully breaking all concentration. Drawing back her leg she swung it forward until it made contact with her enemy. "You're making too much noise!!"

Kakashi's nose lifted from the book in his hands just in time to see the helpless forest creature go soaring across the field and into a patch of trees. Blinking, he slowly turned to the fuming girl, watching as she inhaled deep breaths of air in an attempt to regain her lost sanity.

"Alrighty," Kakashi chirped and slapped the book in his hand closed. "On that note, we should probably be heading home." He arose and gave his limps a much needed stretch after sitting in one position for so long.

"Why; what time is it?" Sakura inquired after she had calmed herself, trying to rid herself of the blush that stained her cheeks.

"Don't know exactly." He sighed, gazing out past the trees to the setting sun and beautiful clouds of orange, red and yellow colors. "But it'll be dark soon enough, and you didn't bring a sweater." As if on cue, Sakura's skin goose bumped and a full body shiver snapped her back into reality.

She wrapped her arms around herself to warm herself. It was freezing! How could she have possibly not noticed the cold until now?! How long has she been sitting for? It's almost dark and they'd been there since early this morning.

"How could have let me meditate for that long?" Sakura's teeth chattered, and she felt a horrible hungry in the pit of her stomach.

"You were just making progress; took you long enough. And I feared that if you were interrupted such a rare event should never occur again." Kakashi sighed and tucked his novel back into his pouch. He had the time to read the book two times today; tomorrow would require a new book. His mind scanned his shelves for a possible candidate; ignoring Sakura's string of swear words and comebacks.

He waited until she could take the position at his side, before they began to journey back to Sakura's apartment.

"I'm starving!" Sakura whined through clattering teeth. She had reason to be, Kakashi noted. She hadn't the time to eat breakfast that morning, with her over abundance of impatience and she had every right to be freezing. It was November now and after dark. Sakura's apartment was quite a ways from the training ground, and the way she was shivering didn't look too healthy, so he unzipped his vest and shrugged it off his shoulders. He watched the way her body sank under to surprise weight of it, before regaining her footing.

"It doesn't have any sleeves but it will due." He replied, Sakura's mouth curved into a smile that told him she was grateful, and she took out of the edges and held it fast around her upper body.

* * *

She was so happy to be home; even if her apartment's heating system was on the fritz, leaving the temperature inside not that much different from the temperature outside. Home warms you up even in the coldest times.

"Make me something to eat." Sakura sighed and headed towards the couch; grazing her fingers around the armrest as she slid down onto the cushions with a sigh. She tucked her legs under herself and curled into the warmth, pulling Kakashi's vest closer to her body.

"It's not nice hospitality to make the guest cook." Kakashi noted; entering the kitchen anyway. His stomach was empty as well; and the thought of any food at that moment made his mouth water.

"You're not my guest." She chuckled, letting her eyes shut.

Kakashi's reply came as a hybrid of a grunt and an "Mmmm, as he began to scan for some food that could be prepared easily and quickly. He came across some instant ramen and knew that would have to do. He was sort of surprised to find that sort of food in Sakura's house. He personally though she hated the half-fast-knock off of the real thing. But she would probably find great use for it after a mission or late at night if she couldn't sleep.

So he filed the pot with water and set it to boil, as he took his search to the fridge. There, he found an arrangement of foods including; eggs, bacon, Tupper wears of left over's, a whole drawer dedicated to fruits and vegetables which might have gone bad by now, and in the freezer he found a bottle of vodka.

Shutting the door, he turned to lean back against the counter in waiting. Across from him was a desk piled with papers and books and scrolls and other junk that he couldn't identify. _I wonder if Sakura keeps a diary._ He asked himself. She didn't seem the type, but he had been mistaken before. He pushed himself off the counter and reached out to take hold of a book when the buzzer sounded the water was boiled. He turned and instead, poured the water into each cup. When it was filed, he set a cup over each lid to keep the heat in so the noodles would cook sooner.

"Where do you keep your water, Sakura?" He asked.

"Bottles are in the cupboard one over from the one under the sink", Came Sakura's sleepy reply.

He looked where she had told him too and found a bunch of bottled water; which he took two of and set them on the counter.

"I'm just going to run over to my house and get something," Kakashi informed as he emerged from the kitchen. "We can eat once I get back; I'll only be a couple of minutes."

He saw the smirk craze her face. "Fine; whatever, go get your porn if you must."

He opened the door and left the apartment, returning with a fresh Icha Icha Fetish tucked into the safety of his pouch, and served the ramen that had a chance to cook with his absence.

Sakura hungrily dug in with her chopsticks and plunged the noodles into her mouth with a sigh of ecstasy each time.

Kakashi did the same; but without the erotic sound effects.

"I'm exhausted." Sakura replied; and she true to her word, she looked like she was going to pass out right then and there. "I'm going to bed." And she lifted her body off the couch that looked like it took a lot of energy to do so; slipping the vest, that was her warmth up until then, off her shoulders and held it to him, mumbling a thanks.

He took the offering from her and she turned to make her way down the hallway. He tilted his head towards the couch and glared. _My enemy,_ he cursed it.

* * *

Sakura nuzzled her face deeper into the pillows and let out a sigh of contentment. There wasn't anything in the world better the collapsing into ones bed late at night. Her limps were spread everywhere, in typical fashion. She loved to take up every inch of the bed she owned, which was why she pitied the man she would have to share-

She was alert when her bedroom door opened and a presense entered the room. She groaned at the though of being disturbed and turned her back to whoever it was. Not very ninja like behaviour but Kakashi was just in another room and he wouldn't allow….wait. There was that smell again.

"Kakashi?" She mumbled and lifted her head as if she was dreaming this all. She frowned when she felt hands on her waist that began to push her over. She was wide awake by that point, and abruptly snapped. "W-what are you doing?" She cried and blush when he continued to nudge her body over and over until she slapped his hands away. At which point she felt his knee graze her stomach and the mattress sink under his weight. "Wait!"

"That couch should be executed by lethal injection; and until that day I will not let it ruin another good night's sleep; so scooch over I'm getting in." She felt his hand on her abdomen, pushing her over again. She immediately pushed herself up and tried to express words to her stuttering logic.

"You-you can't sleep in the same bed as me! No!" She laughed to cover her embarrassment. "Y-y-you're a guy! and my friend! and my ex-sensei!" She listed her arguments but it appeared as though he wasn't willing to argue as his decent into the bed beside her continued.

"Oh, how sweet, you think of me as a friend." He replied. "Now; scooch." He gave a final shove and she was robbed of her blankets as she felt the bed bounce as he settled in.

Sakura's mouth was left hanging as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. She heard his sigh and felt his gently breathing through the bed each time his chest rose and fell. She was so tired; but how could she sleep knowing that a man; that Kakashi, was right next to her?!

"..If," Sakura heard him begin; his voice traveling through the darkness. ",you feel uncomfortable, then you can always sleep on the couch?"

Sakura's surprise quickly turned to anger. "What kind of suggestion is that?! It's my damn bed!" She cried in outrage. "You should have to sleep on that couch like a man!"

"Look, Sakura. We're both tired; so let's not say things we're going to regret." Kakashi's voice was low and muffled by the direction he was facing. "I promise I won't bit; so just lay down."

Sakura huffed and collapsed onto her shoulder at the furthest edge away from him." Biting, I'm not worried about. It's the other…more perverted things…" She was, after all, sleeping next to a 'porn-a-lolic.' But soon her body finally gave out and she fell asleep without any more objections.


	10. Here ye here ye meeting in progress

Morning came way too fast for Sakura's taste; and as she felt herself shift from dreams to reality she groaned in displeasure. It was so warm where she lay. That clue should have sparked some inquest but she was so tired to investigate. She shifted and snuggled deeper into the blankets and warm surface of which she was using as a pillow.

_Cologne?_ She thought she smelt after a deep inhale. _Not just cologne; cider wood and her shampoo. _

She frowned in question before she finally caught onto her situation. Her body stiffened and she became deathly still as if one had a bear outside the tent while camping. As if one move would only end with someone being eaten; and it wasn't the bear.

She completely forgot that Kakashi had climbed into bed with her last night. His reasoning had been that her couch was the devil and it was trying to kill him, but she knew he had perverted motives.

Some time in the night, Sakura had taken it upon herself to stretch an arm over his broad chest; which just happened to be shirtless, a leg was tossed over his thighs and her foot fell into space in-between because he slept with his one leg extended out. Her face was buried into his manly boob and she could feel his breath hit the top of her head, and the covers were in disarray over both of them.

Maybe he was still asleep! Sakura silently prayed that she could just-

"You snore like a dying rhino."

Sakura shrieked at the sound of his voice and pushed herself off of him like his skin burned her flesh and caused her great torture. The blankets tangled her legs and after a few helpless swings of her arms to prevent a fall, she did just that, tumbling backwards until she hit the floor head first. Her legs flew up over her head and she groaned at the uncomfortable position.

She heard his chuckle. "Graceful as always; Sakura." He chanted and she heard the bed creak as his body shifted. Sakura somersaulted back out of her fallen position and shot to her feet.

"Damn you Kakashi! I knew you'd try something like this!" She huffed, a blush burning on her cheeks, as she felt around to check that her pajamas hadn't fallen out of place to give him a free strip show.

"Something like what?" He asked innocently.

"You tried to take advantage of me!!!!" She screamed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kakashi, who had been watching her since before she even woke up, became greatly amused by her morning fit, and the blush that she wore was bright enough to light up the room. So he propped his head up with a fist and grinned at the scene before him; deciding to help things along a little.

"Me?" He chuckled. "I wake up to you spooning me, and I'm the pervert?" True to his predictions; Sakura's blush spread throughout her face until she sported the tomato look.

"I was not…..spooning…you." She whispered in outrage.

"Oh yes you were." Kakashi challenged. "That right there; the arm over my chest and leg in-between my thighs; was a full out spoon. And it was my very first spoon; because I usually don't wake up with the women I sleep with."

"We are NOT sleeping together!" Sakura screamed. "And what the hell is wrong with you; why can't you keep your damn clothes on?! Huh? First there were boxers now there's no shirt-"

"I don't like to feel constricted; I told you this-"

"Next time you're going to be completely naked!" Sakura shrieked at the metal picture that popped into her head at the worst possible time.

"It's much too cold for that."

"Oh my god; what if I-….What if you-….What?!" Sakura yelled in question, huffing in deep breaths of air to fill her lungs past hysteria.

"…I didn't say anything." Kakashi replied after a brief second.

"Oh; I thought you did."

"Sorry to disappoint you. But please; continue with your rant." Kakashi replied waved her the all go. Well aware that if she had the ability to see it he would have to put his ninja speed to good use.

"…Have you no decency, Hatake Kakashi?!" She snapped.

"Please don't use my full name; I feel like I'm 5 again and just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar." Kakashi grinned. "And I'm innocent by the way. You're jar is untouched. Scouts honor." He crossed his fingers only for his own personal amusement.

"KAKASHI!!" She screamed with embarrassment.

"Keep you're voice down; or your neighbors will get the wrong idea; and come back to bed; I've got 3 hours before I'm scheduled to speak with Tsunade; and 4 hours before I'll actually show up." She heard his hand pat the mattress.

"You're insane if you think I'm getting back in there with you." She gave a nervous laugh.

"We're both adults here; Sakura, and two adults and lay next to each other without any such perverted activities. As long as you keep to your side of the bed and promise to keep those busy hands of yours at bay; we won't have any problems."

"My hands are not busy! It was a complete accident; nothing happened and if you tell anyone I swear to God-" Sakura's threat was cut off by Kakashi's loud obnoxious sigh.

"Just lay down." He ordered.

Sakura's mouth opened to shoot back a response but the words died in her mouth, so instead of saying something intelligent, Kakashi was witness to her mouth flapping in the none existent breeze as she tried to think of something clever to say. It was apparent that the chance that would happen had dropped to a staggering 0.

Soon Sakura gave a groan of defeat and cautiously lay down into the blanket, each movement was tense enough to pull a muscle and she made it dire to position herself on the furthest possible edge. Honestly, it was as if she thought he had some sort of disease that he wasn't aware of.

They fell into a silence until Sakura heard him speak.

"The first Hokage of Lightning country was a cannibal; he ate a great number of civilians and even a few of his own Shinobi. The exact number was never records but it was said he ate over 400 of his own people before his death in the civil war almost 30 tears later." Kakashi replied, snuggling into the pillow.

Sakura frowned with amused confusion and titled her body around to face him. "Where the hell did that come from?" She chuckled.

"I read about it; planned on telling you a while ago but never got around to it." Kakashi sighed. "I thought you'd find it interesting."

Sakura smiled wide; kept her eyes closed. Kakashi had noted how she was beginning to do that often; keeping her eyes shut. "Why would I be interested about that, you Baka?"

"Don't know; exactly. But when I read it I thought of you, for some reason."

"Thanks." Sakura snapped "Cannibals and eaten flesh made me just pop into your head?" She reached out and slapped him in the shoulder and thankfully it didn't redirect to any other part of the body. He chuckled and played the innocent victim by whining about how much that hurt.

"Hey, hey; what did I tell you about busy hands?" He reminded.

"Shut up," Sakura grumbled and relaxed deep into the comforts of her bed. "My bed; my hands. You wouldn't have this problem if you'd have slept on the couch like a gentleman instead of taking bed with a lady."

"What lady? There's only me and you." Kakashi thought out loud; making Sakura grind her teeth.

"I meant me." She grounded out.

"Sakura; do we have to have the talk about adjectives and their proper use?"

"I'm going to kill you in a minute; so do you really what those to be your last words?" Sakura snapped and tossed back the covers and arose from bed.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked with a grin on his face.

"All these insults make me want to punch your face in. Another day of training; another chance to kick your ass." Sakura said matter-of-factly and searched for the path to her closet.

"When are you going to learn that you are incapable of kicking my ass?" Kakashi sighed, turning over on his back; resting his hands behind his head and watched Sakura feel around her clothes for a clue as what to wear.

Sakura chuckled deeply as if in a mocking tone. "I love it how you think you're invincible; when you're not."

"I never said I was. I just said that you can't beat me." Kakashi stretched off the blankets and tossed his legs over the edge. "Anyway, there'll be a much shorter training time today, I'm afraid. Tsunade requested a full report; and I've got to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to turn "No progress yet" into a full report." He pushed himself off of the bed.

"You're such an ass." Sakura spat and practically ripped the hanger out. "I can't believe I'm even associated with you." She turned to head towards the bathroom but collided with a chest instead.

"I think it has something to do with my 'ass'; since you keep mentioning boxers and nudity." He gave her messy hair another good tangle and patted her head for good measure.

"You're such a pervert." Sakura mumbled and slapped his hand away as she moved towards the bathroom.

"Yes but I'm your pervert." Kakashi called after her.

* * *

Kakashi climbed the steps of the Hokage tower, with slow a gentle ease. He was in no rush, even if he knew the lady Hokage would lecher him on manors and punctuality; he could personally care less about those things. Besides, if he was late for his first meeting then, mathematically, he'll be late for Sakura's training. He had told her to run 300 laps around the training field, and 500 push-ups and 500 and sit-ups afterwards. There was nothing much he could do but watch her and that would be terribly boring so he decided to be late as possible.

He spied with his little eye Genma, who was descending the stairs above him. The senbon user spotted him as well and promptly called out his name.

"Going to see the Hokage?" Genma asked, smirking madly as he came to stand on the step before the copy ninja. Smirking was never a good sign when it came to the hazel haired man; so when Kakashi winced, it was for good reason.

"Yeah; why?" He replied.

"No reason." Genma's smirk widened considerably. And Kakashi gave a sigh and roll of his eye.

"I'm guessing you heard huh?" He took a wild guess at what could make for Genma's present behavior. And as predicted, the hazel haired man gave an enthusiastic nod of his head. "So what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is; you've personally volunteered to give a blind women training lessons."

"Sakura. I volunteered to give_ Sakura_ training lessons." Kakashi corrected promptly.

"I remember when you wouldn't even train that boy Youko; and he's own of the highest ranked Anbu we have." Genma chuckled.

"Youko was a moron. I gave him every opportunities to better himself and he choice not to. Sakura is different; she's-"

"Oh yeah; I bet she is." Genma nodded and gave a single wave of his head as he passed the jounin and continued his descent. Kakashi frowned and titled his head back to direct him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi warned but Genma; who remained totally unfazed by any threat to his well being, didn't even turn back to acknowledge him. So he choice to ignore the special jounin's statement and proceed up the stairs until he finally reached the door of the Hokage's office.

After two knocks against the wood, he heard her shout at him to enter; so he did.

Her hazel eyes glared at him with a thousand daggers, as she told him to shut the door.

"Good Morning; Hokage-Sama." Kakashi's eye curved. "Lovely day isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know; I've been sitting in this god damn office all morning waiting for you're sorry ass to show up!!" She yelled, her thunderous voice shaking the very foundations of the building and surrounding area. Her finger sharply pointed at the clock; making his eye follow afterwards. "You're late!"

Kakashi chuckled and casually rubbed the back of his head. "So it appears."

Tsunade blinked. "That's it? 'So it appears'?"

He let his hand drop down into his pocket again. "What were you expecting?"

"Am I to receive no lame-ass excuse today?" She asked, leaning back in her chair until she settled into a comfortable position.

"Do you want me to make one up?" Kakashi smiled. "Or do you want to get down to business?"

"Straight to the point. Something is defiantly off with you today." Tsunade noted. "But alas, I want to get you out of this office a.s.a.p. So, why don't you begin?" She sighed and reached into the folded of her shirt and pulled out a bag of chocolate squares.

Kakashi watched as he talked. "She's lost. She needs someone to show her the way; but after that she gets it down pat. She doesn't know the advantages of her blindness; just yet."

"What did you do yesterday?" Tsunade asked as she munched on one of her snacks.

"Target practice." Kakashi replied. "She seemed enthusiastic to prove her usefulness'. But she's no where near the level of jounin. To be completely truthful; at this stage she wouldn't past a genin exam."

"…I knew this was a bad idea." Tsunade muttered. "She'll never be ready in time."

"It was the first day. She'll get it in time, don't worry. She's very determined." Kakashi sighed. "I have her running today. Sit ups; push ups; those things. She never had much stamina; even when she was your apprentice."

"She still is my apprentice. I'm loaning her to you because you insist on carrying out this foolish mission." She snapped and ate another chocolate square. "And if I don't see progress, then I'm canceling your recommendation and pulling her name from the exam."

"She keeps her eyes permanently closed now." Kakashi replied; ignoring her threat. "She's learning to adapt."

"A week. One week; Kakashi; and I'll see for myself. See that she's ready for a spare by then." Tsunade ordered.

"Hokage-Sama."

"That will do for present; Kakashi." She waved in dismissal and he turned on his heels and left.

* * *

Sakura fell to the floor with exhaustion; ignoring the pain of the rocks against her skin and enjoying the feeling of her body going completely limp. Her lungs burned and her head throbbed with a headache that reached a level she had never experienced before.

This was insane. How could Kakashi have demanded this of her? What he out of his senses? Sakura spent the majority of her laps walking with her hands waving out in front so she wouldn't hit anything. That alone tired her out, so how the hell was she supposed to run for 300 laps?!

_That bastard_, Sakura snarled,_ He's probably out with his buddies having a drink and something to eat, while I'm on the verge of death! Lazy bastard; why doesn't he just cancel training if he's not even going to supervise?_

She was so hungry! She whined and pushed herself up off the ground. 130 laps would have to do for now. She wasn't able to completely all 300 in one go, so she decided to start on some sit-ups.

Dragging her tired body over until she felt grass on his toes, she sat down, and began to crunch her stomach muscles.

_I swear to God, if he's out drinking or reading that perverted book of his, I'm going to kill him._ She grounded.

_He's probably off telling Tsunade how much of a challenge I'm going to be. 'She's a lot of work, no stamina, no judge of chakra reserve and her hair is a distraction! Oh; she'll HAVE to shave it all off. It's the ninja way; after all. Me; big strong Kakashi! A manly man! With manly attribute and superiority over the weaker sex! _

Who was he to judge her anyway?!

"He didn't have the decency to where clothing to bed last night!" Sakura growled as she crunched up then released; repeating the pattern over and over. "Who does he think he is?! He's probably expecting me, a woman, to fall at his feet just because he's got a tight stomach…God like abs…and smooth skin that feels like butter to touch…..He's probably used to woman tripping over them selves to get to him, and demanding me to do the same! Well, sorry ass-hole! I'm a ninja first, and a woman second. I'll kill myself before I let that man sleep with me again!" She huffed and pushed past the burn of her abdomen with the rush of motivation filling her veins.

"…Sakura?"

The pink haired girl squealed with surprise and rolled off to the side. "Who's there?" She called out, suddenly catching a whiff of perfume when a breeze blew in her direction. "..Ino; is that you?" That perfume smelt so familiar…She felt a heated blush burn her cheeks. "…How long have you been there?"

"Long enough!" Ino cried. "Sakura, are you sleeping with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's body stiffened with surprise and dread and fear and lots of other emotions before she cried out in a hasty manor. "NO!-Yes! Not in the way you think!" She replied cautiously.

"I'm only aware of one use of the term 'sleeping together' and it involves the birds and the bees." Ino replied.

"No! We're sleeping! Snoring; snuggled into blankets…ON SEPARATE SIDES OF THE BED; that kind of sleeping!" Sakura was hoping that just this once Ino would drop a subject when Sakura requested her to, but like always the blonde took the information and stretched it out of proportion.

"You know what, I always had an idea that something was going on between you two." Ino replied in a tone as if she had seated herself on a large thrown with a crown on top her head.

"Nothing's going on, Ino-Baka." Sakura sighed, knowing that there was no way to convince her friend.

"I mean, why would they be spending soooo much time together if they weren't a couple? You never used to hang out back in the day, it was only in the last 2 years or so that you've become surgically attached to one another."

"We're just friends, Ino."

"Friends with benefits." Ino giggled like a schoolgirl and it made Sakura annoyed beyond believe.

"No!" Sakura snapped. "No damn benefits! It's like…It's like you and Shikamaru!" Sakura finally found the perfect metaphor; so why was Ino laughing rather dark.

"Shikamaru and I went on a date last week." She informed like the devil would inform a dying man of his destination.

Sakura growled in frustration. "Whatever, go away, I've got training to do!" She sat herself down again and began to sit ups from the number she left off at.

* * *

Kakashi spotted the pink hair rising and falling, rising and falling, just off in the distance. He approached silently and observed her for a good while, without her being any the wiser. She looked worn out; proving that she hadn't slaked off when he was away. She was sweaty from head to toe and the body moisture stained the neckline of her shirt and armpits. He could also hear her counting quietly to herself if he listened hard enough.

489

490

….491

……492

…………..493

She was slowing down considerably and her arms were shaky from pushing herself so hard.

"You're a bastard." Her voice was stained but her message came out nice and clear. Kakashi, being a little taken aback by her knowledge of his presence, remained silent and continued to watch.

"Save your breath; you're slowing down." He replied at last and watched as Sakura strained her body for a little longer until she had completed the 500 push-ups assigned to her. She collapsed on the grass.

"W-Water!" She pleaded and Kakashi bent down to fetch her bottle which lay on the grass just out of her reach. He nudged the edge of the bottom against her face and her hand hastily reached up and grabbed it from him. Rolling over onto her back, she un-screwed the lid and began to chug the liquid like she had gone thirsty for a month.

"Slow down; you'll get a tummy ache if you drink too fast." Kakashi chirped and knelt down beside her body.

"Shut up!" She snapped through desperate gasps of breath. "Where were you?"

"Tsunade-Sama's office; of course." He replied.

"Bullshit; neither of you talk for that amount of time about anything." Sakura tucked her eyes into the crook of her elbow with a tired sigh. She was so sore all over and knew that it would only get worse by tomorrow.

"Well, we did this time. She wants to fight you." Kakashi took a seat beside her, and tucked his leg up and leaned back on the balls of his hands.

Sakura shot up with surprise. "What?"

"A spare, Sakura," Kakashi corrected her misunderstanding. "She doesn't want blood. But she wants to test you herself because apparently; I'm not trustworthy."

"When?"

"A week or so from now. It won't be a problem, through. You'll be descent enough by that point...I hope." He smiled as her face fell into sarcasm.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." She mumbled.

"Are you aware that you did 500 push-ups today?" Kakashi inquired, turning his gaze at the trees as the wind tossed them around with gentle ease.

"Yeah," Sakura fell back down onto the grass behind her again. "So?"

"So; I can't recall a time when you were capable of doing even 200 push-ups in one day. And if you didn't cheat, I could call that progress."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to win my match by stunning my opponent with my tight abs and biceps." She sighed.

"It's just the beginning, Sakura. Tomorrow we'll get down the meat and bones of training." Kakashi replied as he pushed himself up off the ground and turned to watch Sakura trying to do the same.

"Oh, goodie." She mumbled. He seized her arm in his grasp and helped her along.

"Come on Sakura, where is that enthusiastic woman who straddled me with excitement yesterday?" He inquired as she slipped her arm around his and allowed him to guild her as they walked. She furiously hushed him.

"Quiet; Ino might still be listening."

Kakashi's eyebrow raised and he casually scanned the surrounding area for any sign of the blonde hair woman. "Ino?" He couldn't spot any sign of her; and if she had suddenly achieved Jounin status over-night, it was a rare chance that she was anywhere near them.

"Yeah; she over heard me saying that you and I were sleeping together." Sakura whispered; apparently unaware of the knowledge that Kakashi was aware of.

His amused grin flashed through his mask.

"Oh; did you now?" He chuckled.

"Yeah and she took it the wrong way." Sakura replied. "But that is to be expected from Ino, though. She's such a whore."

"I thought you two were friends?" Kakashi lead his pink haired partner through the training grounds and onto town roads.

"We are." Sakura agreed. "But she's a huge whore. Honestly; I have no idea how she hasn't managed to get herself pregnant yet. Apparently she went on a date with Shikamaru last week. I wonder how long _they'll _last." Sakura sighed.

"They're so different from what I've heard from Asuma. Shikamaru is a skilled ninja; and Konoha is in need of his abilities, but Ino's a chuunin with only the body switch jutsu under her belt. They work well together during missions, but I really don't know how they would fair in a couples environment." Kakashi input.

"You really have no faith in anyone do you?" Sakura replied. "You don't believe in marriage, you don't believe in dating or love. Does everything need to be about a shinobi way of life?"

Kakashi's gaze tilted down at her with mild surprise. "Are you angry with me?"

Sakura let out a sigh. "No. I suppose I just pity you sometimes."

Kakashi's eye continued to gaze at her with silent inquiry until they reached town.

* * *

After dinner, Sakura changed into her t-shirt and boxers and snuggled into her bed. She moaned with delight until her nose nudged against a warm body. She squealed and leapt back; clenching her heart in fear of a heart attack.

"Damn it Kakashi!" She cried. "Get out, you're not sleeping here!" She ordered with a furious point towards where she could only guess the door what located.

"You need to get over this fear of sleeping with men if you want to get married some day." Kakashi calmly noted.

"Someday; yes! But it will only be with my husband, not my perverted ex-sensei!"

"Aren't you tired, Sakura?" His asked. "Doesn't the mattress call to you, 'lay on me Sakura'? It would sure feel nice on your aching body?" He taunted so well that Sakura had to let out a small whine. She so wanted to sleep.

"..Fine!" She shouted. "But you're wearing pants!"

"Awww." He whined like a two year old.

"Don't awwww me!" She huffed and flopped down on the bed in a curled ball.

* * *

Sakura snuggled closer and closer until she felt like she was in heaven.

Suddenly a thought came to her head and she froze.

"This spooning is becoming the most fortunate habit." He smirked.


End file.
